In a revealing discussion with Derek from More Plates More Dates, grappling standout Craig Jones pulled no punches as he called out Joe Rogan’s apparent hypocrisy regarding the treatment of athletes.
The conversation began with Jones explaining his recent venture, a new grappling tournament that aims to provide significantly higher payouts to competitors compared to established events like the ADCC. Jones noted that Rogan, a longtime supporter of the ADCC, had taken issue with the scheduling conflict, urging Jones to choose another weekend.
However, Jones was quick to point out the parallels between Rogan’s criticism of the Olympics, where athletes famously receive minimal compensation despite the lucrative nature of the event, and the ADCC’s own business practices.
“Rogan just posted about the Olympics and how the athletes don’t get paid, but then he supports the ADCC, which is essentially doing the same thing,” Jones said. “We’re just trying to get the athletes paid more, and somehow that’s a problem.”
Jones went on to explain that the ADCC pays its competitors a relatively small amount, while the event organizers and backers reap the majority of the profits. In contrast, Jones’ new tournament is actively working to redirect those funds directly to the athletes.
“These guys are making millions off the ADCC, and the athletes are getting, what, 10 grand to win the whole thing? It’s the same exploitative model as the Olympics, but Rogan is cool with it when it’s his pet project,” Jones said, visibly frustrated.
The grappling standout made it clear that his goal is to create an environment where elite athletes can be properly compensated for their efforts and the risks they take. He believes the current system, endorsed by influential figures like Rogan, is fundamentally flawed and in need of disruption.
“At the end of the day, we’re the ones putting our bodies on the line and entertaining the fans. We deserve to be paid accordingly, and that’s what we’re trying to do with this new tournament,” Jones concluded.
As a reminder Rogan criticized the Olympics saying:
“The Olympics is a giant scam,” Rogan said on a recent podcast. “There are two things going on simultaneously, okay? You have the best athletes in the world participating in their disciplines.”
“And then on top of that, you have enormous amounts of money being made, and none of it’s going to the athletes. It is a giant scam.”
He added: “So the kind of people that are putting together that ridiculous ceremony, we got a bunch of drag queens in ‘The Last Supper’ that nobody understands because it’s not made by athletes, it’s not made by the Olympics, it’s made by the people that are in charge of putting the Olympics out.
“So they’re the ones who are reaping all the money and sucking all the cash out of these athletes.”
He added: “Back then, there was no television revenue. There was no one, no one was making billions and billions and billions of dollars. So, the Olympics started with, you know, a very pure intention.”
“The pure intention of just, you know, winning. Being the best. But somewhere along the line, it became this f***ing enormous business, and the athletes never got cut in.”
“Everybody is like, ‘shut the f*** up!’ Because they’re just stealing. They’re just stealing money. Imagine that was the case with the NBA, or the NFL, or UFC. Imagine if the athletes got zero money, and everybody else is driving around in Rolls Royces, and living in mansions. It would be crazy!”
Of course this is far from the first time Joe Rogan has been hypocritcal. There’s been plenty of times in the past when Rogan had an MMA star on his podcast and was unwilling to talk about how awful starter contracts in the UFC are.
