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Joe Rogan has had everybody and anybody on his show over the years to discuss a wide range of topics, but there's one individual close to home that will never make it into the studio for reasons you might not expect.
While there are some rare moment when he's knocked off the top spot, Joe Rogan has largely remained the king of the podcasting world for the past decade and beyond, and that's partly due to the massive guests he often has in the studio.
He has had Elon Musk on the show seven times now, and everyone from Donald Trump to Edward Snowden have sat across from the UFC commentator and comedian across the 16 years and 2,372 episodes that he's been at it on YouTube and Spotify.
Despite alleged difficulties in arranging a show with former Vice President Kamala Harris before the election last year, there is one single person that Rogan will likely never have as a guest on his show, even if that doesn't actually come with any grudge whatsoever.
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As reported by SPORTbible, Rogan's long-term relationship with UFC CEO Dana White likely means that respected MMA journalist Ariel Helwani will never make it into the podcast studio.
"Throughout our entire time knowing each other [Rogan] has always been kind and complimentary, but given his relationship with Dana, he's not going to have me on," Helwani explained on his own podcast, The Ariel Helwani Show.
It's understandable that Rogan would side with White despite seemingly harboring no bad feelings towards the journalist, as Dana gave him his job back in 1997, arguably catapulting him to where he is today.
The feud between White and Helwani all started back in June 2016 at UFC 199, where on the night that Michael Bisping beat Luke Rockhold to become the UFC Middleweight Champion, Helwani dropped the news that Brock Lesnar would be returning to the UFC at the promotion's next event.
This bombshell was planned to be revealed by UFC and White in an official announcement, but Helwani's major scoop took that opportunity away, prompting the company to remove Helwani and two of his colleagues from UFC 199, revoking their press credentials in the process.
It was also claimed that Helwani was banned for being 'too negative' by then-UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, but it was eventually reversed after widespread criticism and even support from the fighters themselves.
Speaking about the incident in retrospect, Helwani illustrated: "The one issue I have with [Rogan], which we've talked about a thousand times, is that I did not appreciate the Monday after UFC 199 when he told a version of the story that was 1000% fabricated and that was potentially damaging to my reputation.
"He said a bunch of stuff happened that never happened, it was just their version of the story that they wanted out there to make it seem that I did something wrong and that was very hurtful."
Dana White has since claimed that "maybe we should figure this thing out" in reference to his beef with the journalist, yet Helwani claimed in response that while he's unsure whether White was being sincere or not, holding grudges is a "cancer to your body."
He also added that he "doesn't need to be on" Rogan's podcast, and that "what he has built is so impressive and admirable, it's the biggest podcast in the world."
