Morning Report: Joe Rogan: I shouldn’t have said Ronda Rousey could beat half the male bantamweights in the UFC

By Jed Meshew@JedKMeshew Feb 14, 2017, 8:00am EST

Sometimes all it takes is a good old-fashioned beatdown to make you see the error of your ways. Fortunately for Joe Rogan, he wasn’t the one who had to take one for him to figure out that some of his previous takes on Ronda Rousey were scalding hot.

At the height of Rousey’s dominance, her cross-over appeal was such that non-MMA fans began speculating on who could possibly beat her and some of the opinions were rather outlandish. One of the major #hottakes during this time was the idea that Rousey would be more than a match for many of the male bantamweights in the UFC, an idea Joe Rogan himself help perpetuate.

Previously, Rogan has stated that he was okay with a Rousey-Bryan Caraway fight should the UFC want to make it and that Rousey would beat 50 percent of the male UFC bantamweights, saying, “There's a lot of guys her size she could beat. I mean, a lot. If you took the roster of the UFC's bantamweights, 135 pounds, and you paired them up against Ronda Rousey, she might be able to beat 50 percent of them. That's not a joke." He also defended this statement a couple of weeks later saying that a much larger opponent like Johny Hendricks would “most likely beat her up” but that against similarly sized opponents she could “easily” catch them in a scramble due to her technical superiority.

Well, Rogan is now no longer willing to stand on that hill. In the most recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan was discussing a joke he performed in his stand-up routine about not allowing women to guard the White House and the backlash he got from audience members about it. In the course of the discussion, Rogan walked back his statements about Rousey’s ability to dominate men in the UF, saying that he shouldn’t have joined in on the hype.

“I’m not happy that Ronda Rousey lost but in a way, it makes things easier because there was a bunch of f**kin’ people going, ‘Oh yeah, what about Ronda Rousey?” And I made the mistake saying - hyperbole. I’m the master of hyperbole, I exaggerate all the time - I was like, ‘She could probably beat half the men bantamweights in the UFC.’

“That’s definitely not true. I shouldn’t have said it at the time, now it’s definitely not true. She could beat a few that aren’t good outside the sport. Look, if she gets guys on the ground she could f**k a lot of people up. Her Judo is 100 percent legit, her armbars are amongst the best in the business but people were always saying that... Thank god now that she’s lost everyone’s relaxed with that.”

Now we just have to find out if he’d still pick Rousey in a fight against Floyd Mayweather.

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TWEETS

Can’t find the actual Facebook post but here’s a screenshot.

Let's make it crystal clear then. @ironladymma

A photo posted by Brian Butler-Au (@suckerpunchent) on Feb 13, 2017 at 9:59am PST

Derek Brunson on the Silva fight.

UFC 208 in summary (probably a good read): To those who say move on. Leave your house unlocked and let someone come in...
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Coming in hot.

Rewatched the Holly Holm vs JDR fight. It's not even a debate who won. I have it Holly 49-44 (points taken) 49-46 without #ufc208
— Brendan Schaub (@BrendanSchaub) February 13, 2017

Also, if I was a champion or contender I would NOT fight in New York. They clearly are not ready for this level of mixed martial arts.
— Brendan Schaub (@BrendanSchaub) February 13, 2017

Anyone who says "Can't leave it to the judges" either never fought or is a moron. It's 2017! Judges have to take responsibility.
— Brendan Schaub (@BrendanSchaub) February 13, 2017

Joanna shooting down the rumors.

Plotki | Rumor
Posted by Joanna Jedrzejczyk on Monday, February 13, 2017

Lol.

For crying out loud Forrest shoot he gonna take your head off https://t.co/olaksjrQAt
— Forrest Griffin (@ForrestGriffin) February 14, 2017

But then again I didn't shoot on Anderson so... https://t.co/09XG2X9Bej
— Forrest Griffin (@ForrestGriffin) February 14, 2017

Fare thee well.

Thank you to the UFC and all of the people who have supported me. I have been given so many fair opportunities and I am very proud of everything I was able to accomplish. I'm proud of myself and now I am excited for a new chapter in my life. Martial Arts is my life and that will never change. Thank you to my Big J, my management, my team, my coaches, and my amazing fans. I love you all very much #moonwalker #retired

A post shared by jmoontasri (@jmoontasri) on Feb 13, 2017 at 5:40pm PST

Would watch the s**t out of this training session.

Morning training with a Legend @minotauromma Утренняя тренировка с легендой @minotauromma

A post shared by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on Feb 12, 2017 at 12:22pm PST

This is a great photo.

Literally blood sweat and tears have brought me to where I am today. #andstill

A post shared by Mikebisping (@mikebisping) on Feb 13, 2017 at 5:21pm PST

Whatever you think of Tim Kennedy, this ish is impressive.

There's nothing worth having that comes easily. All the things I value are earned. All of the things that I cherish came from hard work. Things that are forged go through heat, pounding, pressure, pain before the best version of itself is realized. Rough morning of training. Muscular endurance test with a one rep max deadlifts measurement. Then first day using this pistol. Texas star at 15m. #hardtokill #ranger #specialforces #sniper #UFC #isissucks #shootslowdiefast

A post shared by Tim Kennedy (@timkennedymma) on Feb 13, 2017 at 4:26pm PST

What a picture.

Heading to Hawaii to celebrate another @ufcgym opening with the legend @bjpenn I'll be in Hawaii Saturday 2/18 come hang out! @johnwayneparr 95-1249 Meheula Pkwy Unit 1 Mililani, HI 96789

A post shared by Urijah Faber (@urijahfaber) on Feb 13, 2017 at 10:27am PST

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Rafael Lovato Jr. (4-0) vs. Wayman Carter (6-4); Bellator 174, March 3.

TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2013: Eduardo Dantas knocked out Marcos Galvao to retain the Bellator bantamweight championship at Bellator 89.

2015: Ben Henderson submitted Brandon Thatch in the main event of UFC Fight Night 60.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This has absolutely nothing to do with MMA but I laughed a lot and sometimes that’s all anyone needs.

Happy Valentine’s Day to those who care about it (gonna go ahead and assume that isn’t a lot of you considering our general demographics, but regardless). Hope y’all have a good one or at least that you don’t hate it too much. Lilies are better than roses (#hottake) and see y’all tomorrow.

If you find something you'd like to see in the Morning Report, just hit me up on Twitter @JedKMeshew and let me know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and add us on Snapchat at MMA-Fighting because we post dope things and you should enjoy them.