BY
October 1, 2021
-Newsweek
Cenk Uygur has said he could beat Joe Rogan in a fight, claiming it would be the easiest $1,000 he would ever make.
Although the political commentator’s remark is unlikely to lead to a celebrity boxing match, Uygur did spar with fans of the podcast giant on Twitter on Thursday night, after he criticized Rogan’s stance on COVID vaccinations.
The host of The Young Turks podcast wrote: “To all the loser @joerogan fans crying over my attack on his ‘freedom’ hypocrisy & stupidity, are you guys part of the crew or do you kiss his ass for fun? I thought he was a big boy who could handle himself.
“If he doesn’t like my free speech, he can grow a pair & defend himself.”
This prompted one fan to suggest that Uygur call Rogan a loser to his face for $1,000.
“I’ll make a 1000 dollar donation to your trash network or your charity of choice to see you call Rogan who is not only the most successful podcast in history but also a black belt in mixed martial arts, a loser to his face,” the fan tweeted.
Uygur then sent social media users into raptures by replying that he would accept the offer and could take Rogan in a fight—even though he thought the idea was “incredibly dumb.”
Deal. Easiest $1,000 I ever made. You think he’s going to assault me? Sure, whatever. That’s incredibly dumb. But also wouldn’t work. I’m much larger than Joe and I’ve fought my whole life. I’d end him. But grownups don’t do that. I’ll send you the PO Box to send check to later. https://t.co/vB2FeGgiKr
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) September 30, 2021
“Deal. Easiest $1,000 I ever made. You think he’s going to assault me? Sure, whatever. That’s incredibly dumb. But also wouldn’t work. I’m much larger than Joe and I’ve fought my whole life. I’d end him. But grownups don’t do that. I’ll send you the PO Box to send check to later,” he wrote.
Needless to say, this tweet infuriated Rogan fans, who flooded Uygur’s replies with posts saying he could never defeat the black belt in a physical fight.
The frenzy led to Uygur becoming a trending topic on Twitter on Friday morning, sparking a wave of jokes.
“ok i take it back, the celebrity boxing trend isn’t dumb.PLEASE make a Cenk vs Joe Rogan fight happen,” read one tweet.
Another added: “Wait… is Cenk talking about fighting @joerogan? ? Is he so delusional he actually thinks he would win? This is clearly someone that has zero understanding of martial arts/fighting. Joe should absolutely do this. Please.”
Uygur’s comments came as Rogan, who slipped to No 2 on the Spotify podcast chart on September 30, suggested on his latest episode that President Joe Biden did not actually receive his third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine live on television.