Of course, those two will be battling for a chance to once again battle the champion. Since Cruz won the belt from Brian Bowles at WEC 47 in March 2010, the current top five contenders - Benavidez, Bowles, Urijah Faber, Johnson, and Scott Jorgensen - are a combined 16-1 in the bantamweight division, excluding their respective losses to the current champion Johnson lost to Brad Pickett in his WEC debut a month after Cruz won the title.Įveryone who has fought since facing Cruz have yet to lose, though that streak will come to an end when Bowles and Faber meet at UFC 139.

The other thing that separates Cruz from his contemporaries right now is the success his former opponents have had outside of fighting for the belt. No other UFC champion can say the same right now.įor both Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva, former challengers have either slid down the rankings or were pushed into title bouts prematurely, something that hasn’t happened with the crop of contenders the bantamweight champion has dispatched over the last two years. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Cruz has accomplished the feat in just 26 months. His victory over Demetrious Johnson gave him a victories over the current top five challengers in the division, a set that includes a pair of wins over the second-best bantamweight in the world, Joseph Benavidez. Because from where I’m sitting, Cruz has cleaned out the top tier competition in the 135-pound ranks. On a couple difference occasions during Saturday night’s UFC on Versus 6 broadcast, Joe Rogan mentioned a “long list of challengers” waiting to take on UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. be able to justify their selection in the commentary booth? When do you think Joe will make his return? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.Bantamweight champion on par with St-Pierre and Silva What did you make of Rogan’s prediction and thoughts for the fight? Will Jon Anik and Co. Even though he won’t be present for this fight card, there is no doubt that Rogan will be back in the commentator’s chair once the other cards this year come around. Thus, it appears that Rogan is clearly favoring Islam in the matchup and will definitely be tuning in for the fight. The only area of concern for Islam was supposedly his striking, which he has since improved as well. In addition to that, his wrestling, grappling, and raw strength is a big challenge for any lightweight, let alone featherweight like Volkanovski. For one, Rogan feels that Islam is a really big lightweight. Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience, with Sean O’Malley, Rogan was very keen to share his thoughts on the headline fight.Īccording to Joe, he believes that Volkanovski will have a lot of trouble trying to contend with Islam. Coming back to Rogan, who, despite not being a part of UFC 284, is still very excited for the showdown that’s about to happen. As such, it is safe to assume that the veteran UFC commentator is likely missing the event due to his busy schedule involving podcasting, standup commentary, and other obligations.Ĭurrently, the reason for former champ-champ Daniel ‘DC’ Cormier’s absence is unknown and surprising considering his friendship with Islam Makhachev. Why is Joe Rogan missing from UFC 284?Īs mentioned previously, Joe Rogan, who has missed a number of events outside North America, along with Daniel Cormier, will not be part of the commentary team for UFC 284. Lastly, longtime UFC correspondent John Gooden will be in charge of the pre and post-fight interviews with the fighters backstage and provide additional updates throughout the event. Joining the roster, we will see # 5 ranked light heavyweight Anthony Smith, and #5 ranked lightweight Michael Chandler along with Laura Sanko joining the show as analysts. Other than that we also have Brendan Fitzgerald, who will serve as the host for the post-fight show.

Notably, this is the first time Jon Anik, Dominick Cruz, and Michael Bisping will be calling a PPV event together. A post shared by UFC for the commentary desk, we will see Jon Anik make his return alongside former two-time UFC champion Dominick Cruz and UFC Hall of Famer and former middleweight champ, Michael Bisping.

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