Joe Rogan recently spoke about the CM Punk versus Mike Jackson fight at UFC 225 being first on the main card, and had the following to say about the idea (transcription via MMA NYTT):
“He’s now fighting a fighter who’s commensurate in talent and there’s nothing wrong with being a beginner in martial arts. But there’s something wrong with thinking you can be a beginner and fight Mickey Gall. It was a foolish venture. My approach to it was this is going to be a very good lesson for people who are fans of positive thinking and they think that’s enough. That s–t is not enough. If you weight 110 pounds, you can positive think your way to the bank, Francis Ngannou’s still going to punch your brains out. There’s just no way around it.
“A guy who really has very little experience in martial arts and has rudimentary control of his body…that’s what I saw when I saw him training. When I saw him training I thought ‘oh my god this guy’s gonna get killed’. He belongs here [against Mike Jackson].”
Rogan continued, saying Punk’s fight against Mickey Gall was ill-advised:
It was a terrible idea. Whoever on his side said that he could fight Mickey Gall, you’re out of your f–king mind. Watch that kid fight once. That kid is very good on the ground. Very good. Stand up’s not bad either. He’s tough as s–t and he’s smart. He’s clever and he’s mean. He’s a mean f–ker.”
He also said Punk versus Jackson is a better matchup as far as skill set, but it still should not be on the UFC 225 card:
“It shouldn’t even be on the ‘Tuesday Night Contender’ show. It should be in some amateur event somewhere. That’s really what they are. They’re guys learning how to compete. They’re in the first fight on the pay-per-view. That’s f–king crazy.”
