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Morning Report: Joe Rogan: Israel Adesanya handled Alex Pereira loss ‘better than anybody ever’

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Israel Adesanya is officially looking to rebound for the second time in his MMA career.

UFC 281 did not end as anticipated for “The Last Stylebender.” Plotting his redemption in a movie-like fashion against old kickboxing successor Alex Pereira, Adesanya came up short once again dropping to 0-3 overall versus the Brazilian. Success was still found by Adesanya, however, picking apart Pereira for more of the fight than he wasn’t. Ultimately, “Poatan” just carries that great equalizer with fists of stone, stopping Adesanya in round five.

For many champions, how they respond — literally and figuratively — to their immediate setbacks can be telling. Watching the action unfold from the best seats in the house, longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan feels the now-former champion has been nothing but graceful in defeat.

“Dude, the way he responded to that loss is better than anybody ever,” Rogan said on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast. “The dude shows up to the press conference with a f****** fur coat like a king. Dope-ass watch on and just says, ‘He got me.’ He basically said ‘the hunter is now the hunted, I’m coming after him, I’m going to find a way to beat that dude. I was on my way to beating him, and he got me.’

“He was honest about all of it. About how Pereira landed a bunch of calf kicks early on and f***** up his leg and he couldn’t move right. Those calf kicks have changed the game.”

As great of a moment as Pereira’s comeback win was, it didn’t come without shreds of controversy thanks to the final sequence.

Pereira had Adesanya pinned against the octagon after stunning him with an initial shot to begin the flurry of punches. Adesanya provided minimal signs of intelligent defense, leading referee Marc Goddard to wave off the fight although the then-champion never went to the ground. Adesanya immediately protested after his loss, but didn’t appear as angry as in other past cases.

Comparisons to how Goddard refereed his fight against Kelvin Gastelum have been made since by Adesanya to help his case, but at the same time, he’s said he doesn’t blame the veteran official. From Rogan’s perspective, he saw no problem with things ending sooner rather than later.

“I don’t think Pereira was going to stop,” Rogan said. “He had more time, ‘Izzy’ was stationary and Pereira was gonna hit him with some big shots. We don’t need to see ‘Izzy’ with his eyes rolled back behind his head flat out unconscious. I think it was a good stoppage.

“I could see where he’d be upset about it, too. I could see where other fights have gone on longer and they have, but it’s a subjective call and Marc Goddard is one of the very best in the world. He’s top 2 or 3, he might be No. 2, I think Herb Dean’s No. 1. He was saying ‘Bring back Steve Mazzagatti.’ (laughs) Then he went on Andrew Schulz’s podcast on Monday, they were drinking, having fun. He handled it very, very well.”


Rivals. Israel Adesanya says he’ll rematch Alex Pereira with or without the belt: ‘I’ll probably fight him 2 more times

Heat. Jorge Masvidal fires back at ‘little b****’ Gilbert Burns: ‘I will gladly beat the living s*** out of you’

Reflection. Houston Alexander remembers last unsanctioned bare-knuckle fight, the night he was shot and almost killed

Update. Man accused of killing Walt Harris’ daughter indicted on capital murder charges in Alabama

Revitalized. Renato Moicano explains epic UFC 281 post-victory promo: ‘I’m just angry, and I want to f*** everybody up

Whoops. Kiamrian Abbasov stripped of welterweight title after missing weight ahead of ONE on Prime Video 4

Goals. Olympic gold medalist David Taylor ‘considering’ potential MMA move, but 2024 games take priority


Between the Links.

Derrick LewisUFC Vegas 65 media day.

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck chats with Jon Anik.

UFC Vegas 65 fighters top finishes.

Spivak’s top finishes.

Best UFC Fight Pass moments in October.

Crippler.


Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses what’s next for Dustin Poirier after his UFC 281 win, and reacts to PFL’s pay-per-view price tag.


Chaos.

Disaster.

The return.

From foes to friends.

Hot Chocolate.

The wind-up punch never fails.

Can’t deny it would be cool.

But why?

Perspective.

Too late, bud.

Hmm.

Nice.

TBT.

Where does the time go?


Manel Kape (17-6) vs. David Dvorak (20-4); UFC Vegas 66, Dec. 17

Jake Matthews (18-5) vs. Matthew Semelsberger (10-4); UFC Vegas 66, Dec. 17

Puno Soriano (9-2) vs. Roman Kopylov (9-2); UFC Vegas 67, Jan. 14

Jun Yong Park (15-5) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (11-6); UFC Seoul, Feb. 4


I guess Dominick Cruz doesn’t exist anymore.

Happy Friday, all! Have a great weekend and thanks as always for reading.


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If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.





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