Joe Rogan has received a black belt in jiu jitsu.
He was promoted on Tuesday evening by Eddie Bravo, head of the 10th Planet school of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Rogan had been a brown belt under Bravo for several years prior to being bumper up to the top of the school’s food chain.
Rogan posted a message about the promotion on The Underground forum:
“Thank you all, my UG brethren! I’ve been training since 96, and I’ve been a brown belt for 7 or 8 years now, so it really feels like a long term accomplishment to me, and I’m really motivated to get even better! It’s a real honor. I even cried a little :)”
10th Planet is famous in the jiu jitsu world for being the home of the Twister submission and the Rubber Guard variation of the standard ‘full guard’ position. Both have found popularity with professional MMA fighters and BJJ players of all levels.
Shinya Aoki is a particularly notable proponent of the rubber guard, using it to set up a lot of his unique submission finishes, while the Twister was recently seen in the UFC’s Octagon for the first time when Chan Sung Jung used it to finish Leonard Garcia.
Rogan has been a UFC commentator since 1997 and is as much a fixture of the broadcasts as UFC president Dana White is. He has long been noted for his ability to provide technical breakdowns of the ground action in a way that even the layman can easily understand and now his analysis has the added weight of a black belt around his waist.
Rogan is the cover star of the latest issue of Fighters Only, out now in the UK. It is literally one of the best interviews we have ever published in our eight-year history.
In Stores Today! New UK issues of Fighters Only and Train Hard Fight Easy
Every sport has that voice. What Larry Merchant is to boxing, and what John Motson is to football, UFC’s colour commentator Joe Rogan is to mixed martial arts. He and broadcast partner Mike Goldberg have provided the soundtrack to stunning feats of human endurance, strength and heart for 10 years.
But the long-time stand-up comedian is more than a voice. He’s a life-long martial artist, a man with an opinion on anything from God to marijuana, and the host of hit podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.
Along with men like UFC president Dana White, he’s also one of only a select few non-fighters to ever make the cover of Fighters Only magazine. And judging by the soundbites he delivers across an in-depth eight-page interview, you’ll be very glad he is. Are you experienced?