Joe Rogan criticizes Michael Bisping's 'crazy' turnaround: 'It just does not make sense'

Add longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan to the list of people who doesn’t understand the logic behind booking Michael Bisping in another main event fight just three weeks after his title loss to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217.

In a move that came as a stunner to most, Bisping (30-9 MMA, 20-9 UFC) accepted a UFC Fight Night 122 headlining spot against Kelvin Gastelum (14-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) just 21 days after suffering a third-round submission loss to St-Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC) at UFC 217 in New York City. The fight didn’t go his way. “The Count” suffered a first-round knockout loss on Saturday’s UFC Fight Pass-streamed card at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.

Bisping dismissed all medical concerns leading up to the fight. He insisted that he’d undergone additional testing and had received clearance from a doctor without issue, but after tasting Gastelum’s power and succumbing to a big knockout, discussion flared up about whether Bisping should have ever been in the octagon in China.

UFC color-commentator Rogan weighed in on the subject on Episode No. 2 of the “JRE MMA Show” podcast, and he admitted he’s uncomfortable by the situation.

“I don’t think you should be allowed to fight three weeks after you have a brutal fight like Michael Bisping did with GSP,” Rogan said. “He got rocked, he got choked unconscious, and then three weeks later he’s fighting a really dangerous up-and-coming Kelvin Gastelum? Kelvin is a beast. He’s got nasty boxing and that’s what he showed in that fight. He hit him with a beautiful straight jab and a right hand behind it. That kid is just on fire. He’s on another level right now.”

Although Rogan said he was “super, super impressed” by the swiftness of Gastelum’s victory against the former 185-pound champion, he does have some questions about how much the circumstances played into the result.

It’s difficult to determine to what extent the fastest turnaround of Bisping’s more than 11-year UFC career actually had on his performance, but Rogan said it’s certainly a legitimate angle to deliberate.

“Would he have been able to do that if he fought the Bisping who was training for Georges St-Pierre?” Rogan said. “If Bisping did not have the Georges St-Pierre fight and just went right into the Kelvin Gastelum fight, would the same result have happened? It very well could have. The way Kelvin hits, he’s fast as (expletive); his hands are beautiful.”

Ultimately, Rogan said the blame for Bisping competing at UFC Fight Night 122 should be spread across multiple parties. As the fighter, it’s hard to put the entirety of the spotlight on Bisping for what happened. His family, trainers, management and even the UFC have an obligation to aid a fighter through a decision-making process when they cannot objectively do it themselves.

In that instances, the people around Bisping likely failed him. The narrative would have been very different had “The Ultimate Fighter 3” winner come out and beat Gastelum in the short-notice affair, but that’s not how it unfolded. Bisping entered the cage and suffered a record-setting 12th knockdown in UFC competition, and while he almost certainly made a sound payday for doing so, the potential negative effects could outweigh the financial gains.

“You really have to protect the fighter from themselves,” Rogan said. “You really can’t be letting a guy fight three weeks after a brutal fight like that. It just does not make sense. I don’t think it’s smart. I understand the UFC needed someone to fill in on short notice because Anderson Silva tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and they did not want to lose the Shanghai main event. It turns into an even bigger fight when you’ve got the former middleweight champion right off his loss.

“Three weeks later fight again? It’s just not smart. I know Bisping wanted to do it, I know Bisping would probably do it again. If you asked Bisping to fight in a few weeks he would probably do it again. Someone was talking about him fighting in England, probably in March. Boy, that’s less crazy, but still, crazy. We’re basically into December.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 122, check out the UFC Events section of the site.