Joe Rogan has continued to shun Canada, despite breaking with Donald Trump over the president’s ongoing feud with the United States’ neighbor.
The UFC is set to travel north later this year when UFC 315 lands in Montreal, Canada in May for a card headlined by welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, who will face Jack Della Maddalena to defend his title.
However, Rogan, a longtime UFC commentator, will not be in Quebec to call the event, which also features Valentina Shevchenko.
To the great disappointment of UFC fans, the 57-year-old confirmed he will not be making the trip over the border – just days after he spoke out against Trump’s tariff war.
‘I won’t be there,’ Rogan said during his UFC London Fight Companion podcast on Saturday. ‘I don’t go to Canada anymore. I don’t. I’d rather go to Russia.’
The popular podcaster has long stopped calling international UFC events, citing excessive travel and time away from home.
Joe Rogan has continued to shun Canada, revealing he will not call UFC 315 in Montreal
President Trump has suggested that Canada should join the US amid a trade war he sparked by hiking up tariffs
However, Rogan even refuses to travel within the mainland, opting not to make the trip north from his home in Austin Texas.
It wouldn’t be the first time Rogan has skipped a UFC card in Canada, missing UFC 297 in Toronto in January 2024. However, his absence in May comes amid rising political tensions between the United States and Canada as Trump continues his spat with the ’51st State.’
The US and Canada have butted heads in recent weeks over an ongoing trade war and tariffs brought in by Trump, who has consistently taken jabs at the nation and its government, sparking protests at sporting events.
Yet, speaking with fellow comedian Michael Kosta on his wildly popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, the commentator revealed that he couldn’t understand why there was so much tension between the two former longstanding allies.
Rogan, who voted for Trump and welcomed him on his show, said: ‘Why are we upset at Canada? This is stupid, this over tariffs We got to become friends with Canada again, this is so ridiculous.
‘I can’t believe there is anti American, anti Canadian sentiment going on. ‘It’s the dumbest f****** feud.
‘I just want America and Canada to get along, I think it’s ridiculous. And I don’t think they should be our 51st state.’
His words mark a shift away from the president, who he first began cozying up to in the run up to the election.
The 57-year-old previously stopped calling international cards, citing excessive travel
The popular podcaster began cozying up to the president in the leadup to last year’s election
Rogan was in attendance at President Trump’s inauguration in January, after he hosted him on his podcast last October.
He describes himself as a progressive who wanted hard-left Dem Bernie Sanders to become president in 2016. Rogan says the Democrat party has lost him over its behavior on issues including COVID and transgender rights.
The podcaster’s sentiments echo those by newly appointed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The primer minister issued a withering takedown on Trump over the ongoing trade dispute.
He accused Trump of ‘trying to weaken our economy’ in his speech to a raucous room full of Liberal party voters.
‘Donald Trump, as we know, has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell, on how we make a living,’ he said.
‘He’s attacking Canadian workers, families and businesses. We cannot let him succeed. And we won’t.’
The stern words have made it clear that he intends to continue down former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s path of public disputes with the president.
Rogan was in attendance at Trump’s inauguration in January after hosting him on his show
Rogan’s stance aligns with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney who has hit back at Trump’s suggestion
Trump previously trolled former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by referring to him as ‘Governor’ of California
Trump first began proposing a Canadian accession under Trudeau, who he trolled by referring to as the ‘Governor of California’.
He has imposed a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian imports as part of a drive to hold the country, ‘accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country’, a White House statement said.
Current polling suggests there is very little support among Canadians for joining the US, with around 90 percent opposed.
Trump’s taunting also sparked a number of protests against the United States from Canadian sports fans, who have chosen to express their disgruntlement by booing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ before games.
Canadians have targeted the US national anthem ahead of MLS games, WWE in Toronto and most vehemently the bitter Four Nations Face-Off clashes between the two nations in February.
However, a vocal minority in Canada’s oil rich provinces buoyed by Trump’s ‘Drill Baby Drill’ approach have come out and declared themselves 51st-staters.
