A big shock has been dealt to the UFC 318 card as the broadcast team has been revealed with a hugely notable absence.
On July 19, the UFC returns to Louisiana for UFC 318 and in the main event Max Holloway returns for the first time since his UFC 308 loss to Ilia Topuria, defending his BMF title against Dustin Poirier.
The main talking point ahead of their fight is that it’s Poirier’s retirement fight, and UFC boss Dana White revealed that he built the card entirely for ‘The Diamond’.
And just over a week out from the fight, Holloway revealed that he has officially landed in Louisiana after what he described as some ‘little scares’ during his journey.
However, there will be one notable absence in New Orleans as the broadcast team has now been revealed.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Joe Rogan to miss first U.S PPV event in over three years
Ahead of Poirier’s retirement event in New Orleans, and the first UFC event in Louisiana for over 10 years, the broadcast team along with the analysts have been revealed.
According to MMAJunkie, Jon Anik will serve as the leading commentator and will be accompanied by UFC legends Daniel Cormier and Paul Felder.
For the first time in over three years, since UFC 271 which took place in Houston, long-time color commentator Joe Rogan will not make the trip for the PPV event.
It has become known that Rogan does not travel for international PPV’s and he even extended that to Canada earlier this year when he opted not to commentate at UFC 315.
However, with UFC 318 set to take place in Louisiana, Rogan’s absence is extremely telling, with him potentially looking to take a step back from his duties.
As of now, it is unclear as to why Rogan will not commentate at UFC 318, however, his reason for missing UFC 271 over three years ago was due to a schedule conflict.
Shout out to all the people that still don’t believe in conspiracies. Your ability to stick to your guns is inspiring.
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) July 8, 2025
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Is this the beginning of the end of Joe Rogan’s commentary career?
Over the last few years, Rogan has begun to receive a lot of criticism for his work in the commentary booth, with fans claiming that he isn’t as invested in the UFC as he once was.
And with him now missing a U.S PPV event for the first time in several years, some fans are concerned that this could be the beginning of the end of Rogan in the commentary booth.