Joe Rogan Criticizes Ric Flair’s Iconic Finisher

Joe Rogan, a longtime fan and practitioner of Mixed Martial Arts, criticized Flair’s famous Figure-4 leglock for its impracticality.

Although Ric Flair is perhaps the most famous wrestler to use the Figure-4, he didn’t invent it. It was invented by the original “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers, and has also been used by many other wrestlers as well. Other famous to use the Figure-4 include Dusty Rhodes, Greg Valentine, The Great Muta, and both Jack and Gerald Brisco. The Figure-4 is also a transitional or ‘worked’ hold in Japan, where it’s often used to wear a wrestler down rather than finish them off.

Speaking as someone with actual MMA experience that has worked for the UFC for a long time as an announcer, Joe Rogan explained that the Figure-4 sacrifices usefulness for flash, which in his opinion makes the move “dumb” on his podcast:

“A bunch of [pro] wrestlers got mad at me… I was trying to explain how dumb a figure-four leg lock was because I was like he was literally giving up an inside heel hook.”

“Inside heel hook is one of the most devastating submission techniques because once someone gets it the time you have to tap is so small before your knee gets ripped apart and so, a Figure-four leg lock you’ll never see in a jiu-jitsu competition. It doesn’t work. It’s funny in that regard, you know, you are doing this thing but this thing in the real world is the worst thing you do.”

While Joe Rogan thinks little of Flair’s Figure-4 because of its lack of logic, he did praise Flair for his personality and his ability to control an entire audience by simply going ‘WOOO’.

h/t lowkickmma for the transcription