Dana White,
Mike Goldberg & Joe Rogan:
Octagon Personalities

Whenever you watch a UFC event, you are certain to see Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg, and to feel the influence of Dana White. Here are details of these three key Octagon Personalities.


Dana White

Dana is the face of the UFC. He’s the one that gets quoted in all of the major media sources. More importantly, he makes all the big decisions. Granted, he’s not the only one running the company. He and the Fertitta brothers are co-owners of Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, and Joe Silva is the actual official matchmaker.

So, it might be best to think of Dana as the Vince McMahon of the UFC. While Dana may not be the only one in power, he certainly has enough to punish those he doesn’t like.

WWE (Yes, following the transition to the new name rather than what we all remember - the WWF) fans may remember Vince’s popular phrase “Don’t cross the boss” and it would be useful to envision said phrase coming from the lips of Dana White as well. Vince became the Evil Authority Figure as his on-screen character, helped by being in a position of authority in real life as well. Dana certainly seems to have modeled himself after Vince to a certain extent.

Dana believes, much like Vince did, that he needs to get himself as much exposure as possible in order to promote his company. He knows that he’s not going to do that by being a milk toast character. Good ole’ Dana is just as likely to drop a few F-bombs as he is to say a kind word about someone. Witness The Ultimate Fighter reality show. It was in the first season that he coined his greatest catch phrase:

Mike Goldberg is technically the lead commentator of the UFC broadcast team.

He gets to do most of the talking in between fights. His job is to sell you on the UFC product by telling you how awesome it is to be watching what you are at any given time. He’s also a perennial “Yes-Man” and corporate stooge but a loveable one at that. He can get pretty annoying at times. Still, it’s hard to hate a guy that blithely goes along with whatever he’s told to do…right? Hmm.

Anyway, if you look closely enough you can actually see the puppet strings suspended above him.


Joe Rogan

Of course, for every puppet there is a puppet master. While Mike takes direction from whatever he’s told through his earpiece, he also takes his cues from his partner Joe Rogan. Joe is certainly the technical and critical brains of the commentary team. While you often get the impression that Mike is being fed lines, Joe actually sounds like he thinks for himself.

I’ve often wondered how close Joe has gotten to being fired for speaking his mind.

But that is exactly why he’s so great to listen to! Joe’s popular habits include: discussing what fighters are doing wrong, referencing non-UFC guys as if they’re relevant, criticizing the judging and other rogue traits.

Make no mistake about it – Joe Rogan is one of the main reasons the UFC is a great product. Aside from being the refreshing and controversial “real guy” talking, he breaks down the moves that are happening and communicates the techniques that are attempted or should be attempted at any given moment. He helps the casual fan become more familiar with the intricacies of Mixed Martial Arts.

After all, isn’t encouraging people to learn more about the sport the best way to help promote your company and keep those fans around?