Joe Rogan Puts ‘Freak’ Jon Jones & Alex Pereira in the Same Bracket of ‘Rare Exceptions’ for One Reason

Joe Rogan kicks like a mule. Fans will remember the UFC commentator’s viral videos of him kicking the heavy bag, which even stunned GOAT contender Georges St-Pierre. So much so that ‘GSP’ tried learning the technique from Rogan, as have some other UFC stars. And since these are some of the best fighters in the world who dedicate their lives to martial arts, they must have caught on pretty quickly, right? Well, no.

In fact, it seems most of those top fighters (perhaps including ‘GSP’), couldn’t learn Rogan’s exceptional techniques. Why? Well, according to Rogan, essentially because you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. “I’ve taught people that were like elite MMA fighters and I try to teach them how to throw things like a spinning back kick, for instance, and it takes a long time for them [to learn],” Rogan told fitness equipment entrepreneur Bert Sorin on episode #2242 of his JRE podcast.

And this is why Rogan thinks Jon Jones and Alex Pereira are such unstoppable specimens in the sport- because they can learn new things, even in their thirties.

“Even like Jon Jones’ one that he landed like on Stipe, that guy’s a freak. Like that guy is like what we’re talking about,” Rogan said. “There’s some guys you can teach them things when they’re in their 30s and they could develop it, like someone who’s been doing it their whole life. But that’s that’s a rare exception. Another rare exception, I was thinking, is Alex Pereira. Alex didn’t really start striking until he was like 21 years old, he didn’t even start training,” he added.

Fans, of course, are well aware of Jones’ prodigal talent, unprecedented creativity, and exceptional fight IQ, which not only made him the youngest champion in UFC history but also remain undefeated with a record twelve successful title defenses in the promotion. Not to mention he is considered the GOAT by many. But Pereira’s exceptional story is a bit less well-known.

Alex Pereira’s strange story of becoming the UFC’s biggest active star

Alex Pereira used to work at a tire shop and was an alcoholic in his early 20s. To kick this habit, a 21-year-old ‘Poatan’ started training martial arts as a way to kick his addiction. Of course, this is way too late for someone to start their martial arts journey if they want to be a world champion. Not Alex Pereira, however, who has been an exception in everything he does.

After all, he would go on to have a successful kickboxing career and became ‘Glory Kickboxing’s first-ever two-division champion by the time he was 32. But he wasn’t yet satisfied. He then went to the UFC, the biggest and toughest MMA promotion in the world, where won two championships and became the face of the sport within three years. But he still wasn’t done.

Last year, ‘Poatan’, who came into the promotion as a pure striker, earned a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Of course, if it was anyone else, the validity of this black belt would be up for questioning. But Alex Pereira is not anyone else. He is a freak and an exception, as Rogan pointed out. What do you think about Joe Rogan’s take on what makes Jon Jones and Alex Pereira exceptional?