Since the days when people vilified the sport of mixed martial arts, Joe Rogan emerged as a staunch advocate for it. Claiming that the sport encompasses a number of different fighting styles, including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the 57-year-old has emerged as one of its biggest endorsers. Having been a martial artist himself, Rogan also possesses a wealth of knowledge about the various disciplines of martial arts through his multi-million-dollar JRE podcast.

However, as a few BJJ experts recently pointed out, some of the knowledge that Joe Rogan has shared via his platform might be far from the truth. Black belt holders Steve Kwan and Stephan Kesting brought their issue with the UFC color commentator on the Fighting Matters podcast. The former claimed that Rogan’s platform is so “enormous” that it’s bound to amplify the wrong notions about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

“I’m not sure there’s a bigger spreader of disinformation and misinformation in general than Joe Rogan. He’s just got such an enormous platform,” Stephen Kwan stated. “There are people out there who are more radical than he is, but when you multiply the misinformation by the reach, I think he wins.” It’s not like Joe Rogan, who’s a black belt himself, talks about BJJ only with podcast guests who don’t necessarily have a background in it. He even has a dedicated MMA show, where he brings in MMA fighters and submission grappling competitors.

While highlighting that, Stephan Kesting said, “Joe Rogan is like the patron saint of the sport, because he’s involved heavily with MMA. He platforms a ton of jiu-jitsu guys, Gordon Ryan, Eddie Bravo, Kron Gracie.” The black belt holder further added. “He’s a jiu-jitsu black belt himself, and he’s a fairly eloquent advocate for MMA.” It was then that the other guest, Kristi Charish, a PhD in cell biology, brought up scientific facts.

Kristi Charish claims that there is a vast difference between what people think is certain in BJJ and what science actually tells us. Preferring the latter, she claims Joe Rogan mostly engages in conversations and proposes ideas that don’t necessarily have scientific backing. That is one of the biggest reasons why she and the aforementioned black belts claim Rogan’s influence is problematic due to the reach he has, as it can fuel misinformation pretty fast. “One of the things that good scientists and good researchers do is they don’t talk in certainties. What I see a lot of these grifters do is that they talk in certainties,” Charish added.

Well, when we talk about BJJ, the first name that used to come to our mind was Royce Gracie. But now, especially to a non-combat sports oriented audience, Joe Rogan has taken up that mantle—becoming the biggest evangelist of jiu-jitsu in modern times. Taking aim at the world’s biggest podcaster especially with respect to something that built his identity, may not be the wisest move. After all, he’s a black belt himself. And speaking of belts in BJJ, Rogan once revealed which belt was the hardest to achieve. Here’s what he had to say.

Joe Rogan reveals which belt is the hardest to get, and it’s not the black one

While people talk about how hard it is to get a black belt, Joe Rogan doesn’t agree with that notion. So, which one is it? There is the coral belt, which is bestowed upon black belt holders who remain active for 30 years, but even that’s not it. The 57-year-old commentator-cum-podcaster tells everyone that the hardest one is the purple belt. And guess what? Many purple belt holders are active UFC fighters.

“Purple belt is basically a black belt, you just need a little more time,” Joe Rogan told Hollywood legend Mel Gibson on his podcast back in January. “If you can get, I always tell all Jiu-Jitsu students, ‘If you can get to purple belt, you are a black belt, you’re gonna be a black belt, you just gotta stay on that path.'” Well, do you think this is far fetched or does the commentator and podcaster know what he’s talking about?

Getting a black belt from Jean Jacques Machado in Gi, and Eddie Bravo in Nogi, is no small feat. A man who commentates for the biggest fight organization surely knows his way around the mats. So he must know what he’s talking about right? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.