"I used to gamble in the UFC"- Joe Rogan details how he was involved in UFC betting before realizing the danger of bias

Joe Rogan recently spoke candidly with Russell Crowe about betting on UFC fights. In the early years of his commentary career, Rogan often placed small wagers and shared fight tips with his friend Aubrey Marcus, who reportedly had a solid success rate following Rogan’s picks.

Back then, Rogan felt he had an advantage. He knew the sport inside out and had followed international fighters from Japan, Brazil, and Russia long before bookmakers caught up. However, as the UFC grew and the level of competition became less predictable, Rogan began to see how volatile fight outcomes really were.

Even with his expertise, Rogan said he could not ignore the moral concern of working within the UFC while gambling on fights. He decided to stop since even a small wager could create the appearance of bias.

Speaking on episode #2406 of The Joe Rogan Experience, he said:

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“So I used to gamble in the UFC when I first started working for them, and then I was like, I don’t think I should do this anymore. This is a long time ago, though... So what I started doing is giving my friend Aubrey... I started giving him tips, and he was like 84 per cent [right]. Because I know the sport and a lot of these guys would be coming from Japan or coming from Russia, and I’d be like, this guy from Brazil, Anderson Silva, bet the house. I go, bet the house.”

Rogan added:

“And there’s a thing like if you are gambling on MMA and you don’t know how to fight, you’re just guessing... Like you really don’t, you can’t recognize how fast a person is. You can’t recognize how good they are at countering. You just know stats, but you don’t know how to do it. And if you don’t know how to do it, you can’t really see it. You don’t really know... So, at a certain point in time, I stopped just on my own gambling... Because people were accusing me of being biased one way or the other anyway, which maybe I was. You know, I got better at that, but I wanted to make sure that no one thought that.”

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below (30:40):

When Joe Rogan made a bold call ahead of Anderson Silva's UFC debut

Back in 2006, Joe Rogan’s faith in Anderson Silva paid off spectacularly. Silva entered the UFC with a strong reputation, but many doubted whether he could handle the pressure of a debut against the surging Chris Leben.

Rogan, who had studied Silva’s fights for years, knew what was coming. Within a minute, Silva dismantled Leben and announced himself to the world. During a Fight Companion podcast for UFC 308, Rogan shared the story, stating:

"There was a few that I was like, ‘100%. This one. All the money on Anderson Silva.' Anderson in his debut, I mean, that was the one. I was like, ‘Bet the house!’ I was like, 'Bet the house on the Brazilian, bet the house.' This is after Anderson became Anderson in Cage Warriors.”