“I have a friend who’s very wealthy, and he’s a f—ing degenerate gambler. Dana White from the UFC,” Joe Rogan told Rich Vos on the JRE podcast. Over the years, White reportedly carried large sums of cash to casinos, and some, like the Palms, even refused him the chance to play. This led to the infamous story in which White admitted, “Palms knocked me out there twice, the Mirage, Wynn will not let me play.” Rogan himself once expressed concern after losing $600,000 in a single night, an experience that caused him intense anxiety.

More recently, gambling and fight-fixing have again come under scrutiny in connection with the UFC, especially as a fight last week at UFC Vegas 110 drew attention amid allegations that a fighter threw the bout for money. Amid this growing scrutiny, UFC commentator Joe Rogan addressed his own stance on gambling. Without directly commenting on the ongoing scandal, Rogan shared why he decided to stop betting on UFC fights years ago.

Why Joe Rogan walked away from betting on the sport he knows best

During a recent conversation with Australian actor Russell Crowe on JRE episode #2406, Joe Rogan revealed that the UFC provides betting odds. However, he tries not to “pay attention” to them because, “I don’t gamble on the UFC, but I used to.” He explained that he began gambling when he first joined the UFC but soon realized, “I was like, ‘I don’t think I should do this anymore.'”

Rather than continue gambling, Joe Rogan chose to share his expert fight knowledge with his business partner, saying, “This was a long time ago, though. So what I started doing was giving my friend Aubrey, who’s my business partner at Onnit, tips. And he was like 84% right, because I know the sport.” He recalled, “A lot of these guys would be coming from Japan or coming from Russia, and I’d be like, ‘Oh, this guy from Brazil, Anderson Silva, bet the fucking house.'”

The podcaster also highlighted that gambling in MMA involves much more than just looking at stats: “You can’t recognize how fast a person is, how good they are at countering. You just know stats, but you don’t really know.” Reflecting on his decision to quit, Rogan said, “And if you don’t know how to do it, you can’t really see it. You don’t really know. So, at a certain point, I stopped gambling, just on my own, because people were accusing me of being biased one way or the other anyway, which maybe I was. I got better at that, but I wanted to make sure no one thought that.”

Rogan’s perspective carries significant weight in the MMA world, where anything can happen once the cage doors close. Concerns increase even more when people suspect a fighter is throwing a fight; this reportedly occurred last week when featherweight star Isaac Dulgarian faced allegations of fixing his bout. At the same time, Dana White’s gambling habits have once again drawn public attention.

According to Casino.org, sources revealed that White currently owes the Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas an estimated $50 million. White has now broken his silence on the situation, addressing the matter publicly for the first time.

Dana White breaks his silence on gambling debt accusations

Reports have linked Dana White to gambling debts estimated between $30 million – 50 million, but he firmly denies the claims. Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter recently followed up on an original story from Casino.org that detailed alleged high-limit losses, a report that has further fueled White’s notoriety. As the public face of the UFC, White’s reputation has certainly taken a hit, particularly as investigators scrutinize the promotion over alleged fight-fixing.

In response, the CEO pointed the finger at what he calls manipulative media, arguing they ignored a diagnosed “sickness” within his inner circle. “This story is pure clickbait bulls–t,” Dana White said in his statement to Hollywood Reporter. “Everything about this story is completely untrue. But of course media doesn’t care about facts; they care about clicks. This is exactly why I always say you can’t believe ANYTHING you read.”

However, despite Dana White’s statement, the casino has not issued any follow-up. It’s also worth noting that White’s former partners, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who were the previous owners of the UFC, operate the Red Rock. Stay tuned for further updates.