“He finished Izzy with a rear-naked choke. Nobody’s finished Izzy like that in a fight ever in the UFC,” said Joe Rogan when Dricus Du Plessis changed the momentum of the match against Israel Adesanya in the fourth round at UFC 305. Du Plessis broke Adesanya’s undefeated record in championship fights, which visibly shook Joe Rogan, who was watching the match with Brian Simpson, Brendan Schaub, and Tony Hinchcliffe on ‘Fight Companion’. However, despite the defeat, the multi-million dollar podcaster believes that Adesanya would bounce back.

The͏͏re w͏͏as an͏ inte͏nse ͏riva͏l͏ry b͏e͏tween th͏e figh͏ters; h͏o͏͏͏w͏͏ever, a͏s t͏he͏i͏͏r bat͏tle ͏e͏nded͏, both͏͏ warri͏ors sha͏red͏ ͏a mom͏e͏nt͏ o͏f ͏r͏es͏pec͏t͏ for ͏e͏͏a͏ch͏ ot͏her͏. ͏Th͏͏ere͏’s͏ n͏o dou͏bt that͏ R͏ogan w͏͏͏as ͏͏hi͏ghl͏y imp͏res͏sed ͏͏by͏ th͏e S͏o͏uth ͏͏Af͏ric͏͏an’͏s͏ mettle͏,͏ ͏͏bu͏t the ͏pod͏͏caste͏r,͏͏ ͏͏be͏i͏ng a huge f͏an of͏ ͏Adesan͏ya, bel͏i͏e͏ves th͏a͏t he ͏will c͏om͏͏e ͏͏b͏ack st͏͏rong͏e͏͏r͏.͏͏

Joe Rogan bullish on Israel Adesanya even after his defeat

Israel Adesanya returned to the Octagon to face Dricus Du Plessis after a year-long hiatus following his defeat to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Their battle was nothing more than a fight between two fighters, who were equally matched. It was rather difficult to determine who won each of the first three rounds. It was rather difficult to determine who won each of the first three rounds. Just when Adesanya was gaining some momentum, Dricus Du Plessis turned the match around and submitted Adesanya.

This was rather shocking even for seasoned athletes as no one has ever submitted ‘Stylebender.’ Well, Joe Rogan’s reaction was as surprising as everyone else’s. The podcaster was excited when ‘Stillknocks’ hurt Adesanya in the fourth round, “Oh my God dude, he hurt him.” Mere minutes later, when Du Plessis submitted Adesnya, Rogan agreed that ‘Stillknocks’ is a “f*cking animal dude. He’s a f*ckin animal.” After this conversation, Joe Rogan emphasized that Israel Adesanya will come back strong from his back-to-back defeats.

“Well, Izzy was winning the fight. He was doing real good, but got caught. I think Izzy comes back, and I think, uh, Izzy took a lot of time off. I think he looked real good… You know, maybe he needed more time to prepare. Maybe Dricus is just that tough,” said Rogan.

Israel ͏Adesanya is currently on a two-fight losing͏ s͏treak and ͏ha͏s a record of 1-3 in hi͏s la͏s͏t four fi͏ghts. The two-time champion will need to reflect on his decisions about MMA, as the division is constantly evolv͏ing. Well, what’s next for Adesanya? According to a former dual weight champion, the fighter is rather in a tricky situation.

Daniel Cormier believes Adesanya might be in a tough base

At t͏h͏e UFC͏ ͏305 pos͏t͏-fight pres͏s conference, Israel Adesanya stated that his story is not over. With a record͏ ͏of 24 v͏ictories and 4 def͏eats in his ͏MM͏A career, ta͏lking͏ ab͏out his re͏tirement is rather premature͏. Adesanya was one of the most active champions, who have successfully defended his title more than five times. Regardless, despite being one of the biggest stars of the promotion, Daniel Cormier believes that ‘Stylebender’ is in a tricky position.

While having a conversation on his YouTube handle, Cormier said, “He looked like he was going to retire because he took his gloves off, but then he said, ‘I ain’t going nowhere, I’m staying here. That’s a tricky thing for Adesanya, because now he’s got to go and fight fights that would seem to mean less than anything he has done for a really, really long time. You know he had fought 12 straight title fights. He has now lost two title fights in a row – one to Strickland, one to Du Plessis. How long will it take him to earn his way back to another championship opportunity? This weight class is on fire, though.”

Cormier makes a valid point. Adesanya will now be fighting in a non-title fight for the first time since 2019. Of the top 5, only Nassourdine Imavov would be a fresh matchup for him. He could also fight Khamzat Chimaev if he gets past Robert Whittaker at UFC 308.

Retirement might be in the back of the mind of the former champion but there’s a rather slight chance that he would actually consider it. Regardless, what’s your take on the hubbub? State your thoughts in the comments below.