UFC 203: Joe Rogan's Great Interview Suggestion
UFC 203 was remarkable for many reasons, including heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic successfully defending his championship – in front of his hometown crowd – after he finished Alistair Overeem in the first round.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan went to perform his duties of interviewing the fighters. When he spoke with Overeem, the former K-1 champion gave the champion his props but also mentioned something about Miocic supposedly tapping out while he had him in a guillotine choke – this is being referred to as “the phantom tap.”
“The ref didn’t see it, the ref didn’t jump in, so the fight continued,” Overeem said. “In my opinion, he tapped and it’s a bummer. Going to have to go back to the drawing board. I feel like I am the better fighter, but not today … but he clearly tapped.”
After the footage rolled and there was no sign of a tap from the champion, Overeem had this bewildered look on his face.
Some folks may think “well Overeem is making excuses for losing” and is trying to mess up Miocic’s moment.
Apparently Rogan didn’t think this was the case. After the event, he took to Twitter, asking the UFC to consider not having him interview fighters immediately after they are knocked out.
I like Rogan’s idea and I really hope the UFC takes it under consideration. I understand the post-fight interview has been a longtime staple of the UFC’s presentation, but someone who has experienced a lot of trauma might not be in their right mind when you first talk to them.
Even if you get the wind knocked out of you, you’re trying to assess the situation and your body is recovering from getting hit – and you’re probably not aware of your surroundings.
Interviewing a fighter immediately after their bout is not an easy task. Some athletes are exhausted and can’t form coherent sentences. Personally I’m not a fan of immediately interviewing fighters who lose a big fight. Sure it can make for an interesting soundbite and give the crowd – and social media – something to talk about and dissect.
What comes to mind is Forrest Griffin’s interview after he lost to Keith Jardine when he said “I don’t ev… Keith came in and he did exactly what I wanted to do and he knocked me the fuck out. Let’s go home.”
However, it’s also kind of embarrassing for the athletes. If I lost a fight, especially in the first round, the last thing I want is a microphone in my face and the interviewer asking “Gee, how does it feel to lose the biggest match of your life?” My response sure as heck wouldn’t be “Gee, I really feel good about losing that fight.”
Again, I hope the UFC examines Rogan’s suggestion and puts it into practice for their future events.
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