Did Ronda Rousey’s Joke Reveal the Real Story Behind Joe Rogan’s Amateur Record?

Ronda Rousey went on Bert Kreischer's podcast and tossed a little cold water on Joe Rogan's martial arts mystique. Yes, she also teased a 2026 MMA comeback. But the Rogan part is what blew up.

What happened on Bertcast

• Date: October 30, 2025
• Show: Bertcast with Bert Kreischer
• The setup: Kreischer joked he could be Rousey's opponent and even called Rogan mid-show to ask for tips.
• Rousey's response: Not impressed. She said Rogan wouldn't know how to beat her because, in her view, he isn't an expert.
• The sticking point: Kreischer brought up Rogan having had around 100 taekwondo bouts as a teenager. Rousey did not budge.

"He wouldn't know. He never fought... that's not fighting."

She also framed Rogan as more of a fan with an audience than a legit authority. Then she pivoted off the topic pretty quickly, telling Kreischer she didn't want to get him buried in angry DMs for her take. Which, fair.

So, what is Rogan's actual combat sports background?

Short version: a lot of training, no pro MMA. Rogan has said he racked up a bunch of taekwondo matches when he was young, including winning the U.S. Open Taekwondo Championship at 19. He holds a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and has spent years training Muay Thai, wrestling, and judo. In other words, he's deeply trained, just not a former cage fighter.

Why he never fought in the UFC? On his podcast, he told Joseph Valtellini that by the time the UFC really took off, he was already out of competition. He says his last kickboxing bout was back in 1989, the money in fighting wasn't there, hard sparring gave him headaches, and the realistic career path looked like teaching. Comedy showed up as the better lane, so he took it.

Rousey vs. the MMA media, with Rogan in the crosshairs

If this sounded pointed, it fits a pattern. In 2024, Rousey told The Chris Cuomo Project that she felt the MMA media turned on her after her UFC run and later WWE stint. She specifically namechecked Rogan as someone who went from celebrating her fights to, in her view, bailing when the tide shifted. She also did not sugarcoat how she felt about that crowd and said she had no use for those relationships anymore.

The 2026 return tease

Somewhere in the middle of all that, Rousey floated the idea of fighting again in 2026. No opponent, no promotion, just a dangling carrot. Given how fast the Rogan comments took off, the comeback tease almost felt like a side note. Almost.

Bottom line: Rousey drew a hard line between competitive martial arts experience and actual prizefighting, and she put Rogan on the wrong side of it. It's a spicy stance, especially considering how long he's been attached to the UFC, but that's Rousey. Subtle has never been the brand.