AUSTIN, TEXAS: Joe Rogan made waves with his reaction to the surprising replacement of Charles Oliveira with Alexander Volkanovski in the fight against Islam Makhachev for the World Lightweight Championship.

The unexpected change in the UFC lineup caught Rogan’s attention and triggered a notable response. The event is set to take place in Abu Dhabi the following weekend.

Joe Rogan reacts to Charles Oliveira’s replacement with Alexander Volkanovski

Dana White confirmed last night that the featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, was selected to step in for Charles Oliveira, who was withdrawn from his lightweight title fight against champion Islam Makhachev at the upcoming event.

UFC shared the clip on X(formerly Twitter), stating, “Dana breaks down how we got to @MakhachevMMA vs @AlexVolkanovski 2 at #UFC294 next week!”

Joe Rogan just published the UFC’s own announcement on Instagram rather than dissecting the new fight or going into detail about the injury that had kept Oliveira out of action. He also added a succinct, two-word response, “OH S**T!!”

However, Rogan won’t be a part of the UFC 294 commentary crew since he currently only appears at PPVs hosted in the United States. The veteran has already stated that he would be reducing the number of events he would be working on.

However, he has continued to contribute steadily to the promotion in the years that followed. Charles Oliveira took to Instagram last night to apologize for his withdrawal, revealing that he sustained a severe cut above his right eye during his fight with Makhachev.

Joe Rogan’s reaction to Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski’s first fight

At UFC 294, Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski will square off for the second time in 2023 in a championship match. ‘Alexander the Great’ and the Dagestani fought in the main event of UFC 284 in February.

The judges awarded him a unanimous victory in the fight, and he left the ring with his hand raised. Interestingly, Rogan was one of several observers who expressed surprise about the decision in favor of Volkanovski.

The seasoned pundit stated that he thought Volkanovski had done enough to win on an episode of his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, saying the following, “Oh my God! We were convinced [that Volkanovski won the fight]. We might have to watch it [again]. Let’s see what people think online; in my eyes, I thought it was 3-2.”