A rumor that circulated online in March 2025 claimed podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan said he'd rather visit Russia than Canada. For example, users shared a meme on Reddit and X claiming Rogan said, "I won't be [at UFC 315]. I don't go to Canada anymore. I'd rather go to Russia." One X user, whose post appears below, added, "Trump has fried this man's brain."
X users also shared a video purportedly sourced from one of Rogan's podcast episodes for "The Joe Rogan Experience," depicting him saying the quoted material about the two countries.
Rogan truly said he'd rather go to Russia than Canada, and that he would not visit Canada in the future. He laughed after making the remark but provided no direct indication he was joking. The moment occurred during a "JRE Fight Companion" podcast episode broadcast live on March 22, available on both Spotify and YouTube. Because of this, the claim is a correct attribution.
A search of the podcast episode's captions located additional comments Rogan made about Canada earlier in the same episode. He said, "I think it's stupid that we hate France. I don't get it. I think it's stupid that we hate Canada, too. I don't get that either." He added, "They have a terrible government but Canadian people are awesome."
A representative for Spotify, the music streaming service that signed a new deal with Rogan in early 2024, did not yet respond to a request for comment.
Here's what Rogan said about Canada, Russia and Trump
While broadcasting the podcast episode with Gordon Ryan, Brendan Schaub and Eddie Bravo — all men with backgrounds in professional fighting — Rogan asked his producer, Jamie Vernon, about the location of UFC 315. After Vernon answered, Rogan made the remarks about Canada and Russia, as well as some comments about U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting Canada become the 51st U.S. state, including referencing former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the "governor" of the "Great State of Canada."
The following conversation begins at the 3:13:44 mark in the Spotify and YouTube videos:
VERNON: Montreal. UFC 315. May 10.
ROGAN: Wow. I won't be there. I don't go to Canada anymore. I don't.
SCHAUB: No. Nor should you.
ROGAN: Uh uh.
SCHAUB: No, discipline 'em.
ROGAN: Yeah, I'd rather go to Russia.
SCHAUB: Yeah, f*** yeah.
ROGAN: (laughs)
SCHAUB: Yeah, hell yeah.
RYAN: When they become the U.S., you never know.
ROGAN: That's never gonna happen. That's so crazy to ask them to be the 51st state. I had a conversation with Trump about it. He goes, "I started calling him Gov. Trudeau just for fun, and a lot of people are saying it's a good idea." Like, maybe it is a good idea. (laughs)
Rogan endorsed Trump the day before the November 2024 election. He also attended Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.
Days later, he said in one of his podcast episodes:
I don't consider myself a Republican. I don't consider myself a Democrat either. I consider myself an American. I just, I'm a human being. And there's a lot of things that the Democrats believe that I believe too. There's a lot of things that they say that I say, "That makes a lot of sense to me." And there's a lot of things that the Republicans say that I'm like, "That makes a lot of sense to me, too." And the idea that I have to ignore things that make sense to me because it's coming from the wrong team is just stupid.
For further reading, a previous fact check examined a claim of Rogan's height measuring 5 feet 3 inches.