Joe Rogan said he will not be attending an upcoming UFC fight in Montreal because he doesn’t “go to Canada anymore” and joked that he would “rather go to Russia.”
The UFC commentator shared his thoughts on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, when asked if he will be in attendance to watch UFC fighter Belal Muhammad defend his Welterweight gold against Jack Della Maddalena in May.
When Rogan asked his guests Gordon Ryan, Brendan Schaub and Eddie Bravo when the fight is set to take place, they said, “About two months.”
“Where’s that at?” Rogan asked.
The Joe Rogan Experience producer Jamie Vernon told Rogan that the fight will be held in Montreal at UFC 315 on May 10.
“Wow, I won’t be there. I don’t go to Canada anymore,” Rogan said. “I rather go to Russia.”
One of Rogan’s guests suggested that Canada “may become the U.S.” in reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent comments that Canada should be the 51st U.S. state.
“That’s never going to happen. That’s so crazy to ask them to be the 51st state,” Rogan said.
“I had a conversation with Trump about it,” Rogan revealed. “He goes, ‘I started calling him Governor Trudeau just for fun, but a lot of people are saying it’s a good idea. Like maybe it is a good idea. A lot of people say it.’”
Earlier in the podcast, Rogan, who also didn’t attend UFC 297 in January in Toronto, called Canada’s government “terrible” but said that he likes Canadian people.
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“I think it’s stupid that we hate Canada … They have a terrible government but the Canadian people are awesome,” Rogan said, during the three-and-a-half-hour podcast.
“The new guy is more of the same,” Rogan added, comparing Prime Minister Mark Carney to former prime minister Justin Trudeau. “And then they have to have a vote … They don’t have the same thing over here, like it’s November 4th. With them they get to decide when there’s going to be a vote. They’ll, like, call it in three weeks.”
Rogan referred to Canada’s government as “a squirrely system” and said Canadians “just keep losing rights, left and right.”
He also discussed the “Freedom Convoy” in Canada in 2022, which travelled the country and protested vaccine mandates in front of Parliament in Ottawa for several weeks.
Rogan claimed that Canadian authorities froze bank accounts of people who “only donated to the truckers” and that people are “still in jail” for their participation.
“It was kind of when a lot of people woke up,” Rogan added.
This isn’t the first time Rogan has criticized Canada on the podcast.
In March, Rogan said he didn’t love Trump’s idea of making Canada the 51st U.S. state. “I just want America and Canada to get along. I think it’s ridiculous,” the former Fear Factor host said.
“I don’t really think they should be our 51st state. There. I said it,” Rogan said while laughing.
“We have to become friends with Canada again. This is so ridiculous,” Rogan said, adding, “This is the dumbest f–king feud.”
Back in July 2022, Rogan had some strong words about Canada and Trudeau, voicing his distaste for the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Canada’s communist,” Rogan said on the podcast. “They’re f—ked. They gotta get rid of that guy,” he said, referring to Trudeau.
Rogan’s guest, comedian Tom Segura agreed, saying, “Canada’s crazy.”
Rogan admitted he has “no idea how [the] system works” in Canada, but claimed that he liked Trudeau before the pandemic.
“I was like, he’s a handsome guy, seems sweet,” he said. “Good-looking guy, confident, good talker and then during the pandemic I’m like, ‘Oh, you’re a f—king dictator.’”
As Segura agreed with Rogan, the podcast host continued, claiming Trudeau doesn’t like criticism, and tried to “shut down criticism by saying that all your critics are misogynists and racists.”
Rogan was again referring to the “Freedom Convoy” in Canada, when Trudeau enacted the Emergencies Act in response to the convoy, which gridlocked Ottawa on Feb. 14.
“He’s gross. He’s a sketchy guy,” Rogan said on the podcast.
Rogan also said Trudeau has “some shaky deals” and added that he would “like to see where the money is coming from.” It is still unclear what deals Rogan was referring to.
— With files from Global News
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