Why was Joe Rogan shaking everybody's hands at UFC 249?

Jason Owens
·Staff writer
Updated ·2 min read

The original plan for UFC 249 was for Joe Rogan to stay out of the Octagon.

So when he took his normal post-fight stance in the cage and conducted literal hands-on interviews on Saturday, people noticed. Not only was Rogan in the Octagon, but he regularly broke a cardinal rule of COVID-19 safety by repeatedly shaking hands with fighters.

He shook hands in the prelims with Ryan Spann.

He shook the bloodied hand of interim lightweight champ Justin Gaethje after his stunning TKO of Tony Ferguson in the main event.

He appeared to shake hands with every fighter he spoke with on Saturday.

It raises an obvious question. Why?

Was Joe Rogan making a statement at UFC 249 or simply falling on old habits? (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Was Joe Rogan making a statement at UFC 249 or simply falling back on old habits? (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Was it a statement in support of UFC?

The immediate answer is that everybody in the building had been tested for COVID-19, so the assumption is that there’s no way anybody inside was infected.

So was it a stance of defiance by Rogan as UFC has faced a barrage of criticism for even hosting an event as the coronavirus continues to spread and kill in the United States? A calculated decision to shake hands would reflect the behavior of his boss Dana White, who publicly flouted safety protocols in the preparation for the event, only to see a fight canceled after a fighter tested positive.

As parts of the country open up while COVID-19 maintains a firm foothold in the United States, some have taken to flouting common-sense safety measures as a badge of honor, a form of virtue signaling for the unvirtuous.

Rogan is extra careful on his podcast

Even if Rogan was confident that there was no COVID-19 in the building, why make a concerted effort to publicly use a greeting that’s believed by many to have no place in the post-COVID-19 world? It doesn’t set a great example, even while acknowledging that the fighters had been tested.

Rogan’s not among the COVID-19 deniers. In fact, he made headlines in April for paying for all the guests on his podcast to undergo testing. He said at the end of Saturday’s broadcast that he’s getting tested again tomorrow.

For now, his decision remains a mystery. Was he making a statement? Or were his handshakes simply a matter of old habits dying hard?

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