Rogan Advises Verhoeven On UFC Move

Joe Rogan steered Rico Verhoeven away from the UFC and toward boxing during a recent podcast appearance.

The former Glory heavyweight champion asked the longtime UFC commentator whether he should pursue a move to mixed martial arts, per Sherdog. Verhoeven noted that Conor McGregor reportedly earned a huge sum for his 69-second return bout last month. Rogan told the 37-year-old that the gloved game offers a better payday at this point in his fighting life.

Rogan Highlights Matchroom Factor

Rogan said Verhoeven's teammate Tom Aspinall could also benefit from Eddie Hearn's promotional reach. "For you, boxing makes the most sense, especially at this point in your life, financially," Rogan told Verhoeven. "For Tom, he has a potential career in boxing as well. And now that Eddie Hearn is managing him, which is very exciting because Matchroom being behind him is gonna have a gigantic hype machine, gigantic promotion."

The Dutchman gave up his Glory title last year after beating Artem Vakhitov, who holds a win over Alex Pereira in kickboxing. Verhoeven went on to challenge Oleksandr Usyk in May as a heavy underdog. He controlled much of the fight before getting dropped late in the 11th round, where the referee controversially waved it off with one second remaining in the stanza.

Verhoeven is reportedly in talks for a boxing match with Alistair Overeem.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Joe Rogan advises Rico Verhoeven to choose boxing over the UFC