Joe Rogan Shares Wild Theory About Dana White “Insulting” MMA With Gambling Money

“He’s a f—ing degenerate gambler,” Joe Rogan said last year in one of his podcast episodes, talking about Dana White’s gambling addiction. The UFC CEO’s spending considerable amounts of money in casinos is well known among fans. But Rogan believes White’s addiction has reached a point that it’s affecting MMA.

The UFC color commentator floated a wild theory that the UFC boss’s gambling addiction was the fuel behind the existence of Dana White’s ambitious PowerSlap. He went a step further to call it insulting to MMA.

“That’s my theory about slap fighting,” Rogan said in the JRE episode with Yellowstone star Luke Grimes. “Why they’re doing slap fighting. I think it’s Dana’s gambling money. That’s what I think. I think it’s like he needs some source of revenue outside of the UFC, so he doesn’t lose his UFC money.”

And it’s all like the saddest people getting whacked in the head. It’s not a good thing. They call it fights, too. Like okay, Dana. I mean, I guess you should come up with another name. It’s kind of insulting to an actual fight, right? But that’s my theory, that it’s his gambling money because that dude gambles,” he added.

Dana White has never explicitly said that PowerSlap is built on his gambling money. However, the UFC CEO clearly aims to build the sport like the UFC and shows a willingness to go to great lengths. Last year, the UFC head honcho moved PowerSlap from streaming on Rumble to exclusively on YouTube, and that decision showed that he’s not afraid to take a leap.

Though slap fighting would garner the eyes of over a billion users on Google’s platform, Forbes reported that the promotion’s rights deal was half of Rumble’s $35 million. Moreover, last year, White reportedly invested around $1 million in the business to keep the slap-fighting venture running.

Conversely, the UFC apparently couldn’t pay Ilia Topuria enough to fight Islam Makhachev at this year’s marquee White House event, as per ‘El Matador’s manager, which does raise some questions.

PowerSlap 12 LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 7, 2025 : Dana White with the fans at Fontaine Bleu for PowerSlap 12 on March 7, 2025 in Las Vegas, NV, United States. Photo by Louis Grasse/PXimages Las Vegas, NV Fontaine Bleu LAS VEGAS, NV United States Copyright: xLouisxGrassex

And Rogan is not the only one with a bone to pick over Slap fighting. UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall derided it, pointing out how people do not have a chance to defend themselves. He said it was ‘not his cup of tea.’ Nate Diaz was not as kind with his words.

“Anthony Smith is a dumbf***,” Diaz wrote on X, replying to a post about an article where ex-UFC star Anthony Smith voiced his support for PowerSlap. Coming from Diaz, who loves to slap people, this speaks volumes. And it’s not just these two. Max Holloway, Matt Brown, Brendan Schaub, Dan Hardy – the list of UFC personalities who hate slap fighting runs long.

Now, as PowerSlap remains a matter of dispute, Dana White made another big move by bringing a well-known former WWE star to the roster.

Dana White signs former WWE champion to PowerSlap

Currently, the UFC CEO’s ambitious venture of slap fighting does have some decent stars like Paige VanZant, who transitioned from MMA to PowerSlap. Then, there are proper slap talents like Ron ‘Wolverine’ Bata making a name among viewers who watch the sport. But now, their roster has gotten better, as former WWE star Jack Hager has joined them.

“You know what you signed up for,” Hager said as per MMA Mania. “You’re signing up to get slapped and trying to slap someone back as hard as you can. So I expect injuries to happen. I know UFC does a great job of covering all expenses related to the injuries. I’m not worried about it, to be honest.”

For the unaware, Hager has spent over a decade in WWE and was popular with the name ‘Jack Swagger.’ During his tenure in the pro-wrestling promotion, Hager won the WWE Heavyweight championship and then moved to AEW. The 43-year-old also had a brief stint later in MMA, where he fought in Bellator and tallied up a 3-1 record, and now, you’ll see him clashing with the best slappers under Dana White’s banner.

That said, what do you think about PowerSlap? Do you actually enjoy the sport, or do you have a disdain similar to Joe Rogan’s? Let us know in the comments section below.

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