It’s not every day that a UFC experience stays with you for fifteen years. But for comic Big Jay Oakerson, that was exactly the case when he appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience. The event? UFC 101. Big Jay was there, and when he recounted the spectacle, it became clear that he didn’t just watch an event; he witnessed history as fans saw a young Jon Jones and also witnessed Anderson Silva‘s transformation into the person who could silence 18,000 people with a smirk.
It’s one thing to watch a fight. It’s another thing entirely to witness a crowd’s emotional switch. That’s what Big Jay Oakerson remembered at UFC 101 when he spoke on JRE #2339. When Forrest Griffin stepped out, the place exploded. “Forest Griffin, I mean, the applause he got when he came out, the ovation he got—they couldn’t wait,” Oakerson recalled.
“They loved him, and they literally booed Anderson Silva.” However, the booing did not last long. What followed was a display of dominance that shocked even the most ardent supporters. Silva demolished Griffin so easily that Oakerson couldn’t help but giggle in surprise. “Anderson Silva handled that hilariously and quick,” he stated.
Griffin, surely shaken, fled from the Octagon without stopping. “He ran right out of the ring, which was a thing,” Oakerson remarked. Then came the cherry on top. “They announced the thing, goes, ‘Your winner, and still, Anderson Silva,’ and the place booed.” But Silva, ever the cool assassin, changed the tone in seconds. As he stood on the big screen, clutching his belt with a casual grin, the audience that had just booed him began to cheer.
“It was such a sweet moment,” Oakerson talked about, “because Anderson Silva seems like his personality is good, it seems like.” In that moment, he was undeniable. And as Silva stole the show inside the cage, someone else was quietly collecting notes outside. “We saw, like, an 18-year-old or 19-year-old Jon Jones just walking around the arena that night,” recalled Oakerson.
Credits: Imago
It was a minor detail in the midst of a memorable night, but it has matured like fine wine. Few realized it at the time, but they were witnesses to the dawn of a new era. The moment Big Jay talked about on the podcast was more than just another UFC event; it was a moment when careers were solidified, perceptions shifted, and legends passed each other in the corridor.
It’s no surprise that the recollection still hits like a punch fifteen years later. But while Silva was the underdog in this story, there is another fighter who doesn’t get his due, according to Joe Rogan. So, who is this underrated champion?
Joe Rogan wants a UFC champion to get deserved respect
The kind of moment Big Jay Oakerson witnessed at UFC 101—when a fighter commands the respect of an entire arena—remains rare. And Joe Rogan believes that one of today’s few champions, who deserves the same amount of respect, is still being overlooked.
While luminaries like Anderson Silva gained the crowd’s admiration through knockouts, others, such as Demetrious Johnson and Alexandre Pantoja, did so through simple technical brilliance, albeit without the same applause. Joe Rogan’s frustration is clear. He has long argued that the UFC’s flyweight category does not receive the attention it deserves, and fighters like ‘The Cannibal’ are proof.
“He’s so f—— good,” the UFC commentator stated on the JRE. “If that guy was 170, he would be a f—— superstar.” According to Joe Rogan, Alexandre Pantoja is on a seven-fight winning streak, having defeated every serious contender. He’s aggressive on his feet and lethal on the ground, but because he weighs 125 pounds, he still slips under the radar.
What Rogan wants is simple: acknowledgment. Demetrious Johnson never got it during his reign, and despite being on a seven-fight win streak, ‘The Cannibal’ is having the same challenge outside the cage. While Anderson Silva eventually converted the boos into cheers, flyweights are still waiting for that moment. If Pantoja wins again at UFC 317, perhaps that will change.
The post Anderson Silva Silencing 17,000 U.S. Fans and a Rising Jon Jones – Joe Rogan’s Guests Relive Iconic UFC Event on Podcast appeared first on EssentiallySports.
