JRE MMA Show #82 with Israel Adesanya

Joe Rogan 0:00 Three, two... Ladies and gentlemen, the champ is here.

Israel Adesanya 0:04 My man.

Joe Rogan 0:04 Salud.

Israel Adesanya 0:05 Salud.

Joe Rogan 0:05 Last time-

Israel Adesanya 0:06 L'chaim.

Joe Rogan 0:06 L'chaim.

Israel Adesanya 0:07 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 0:07 Mm. (glasses clink) Last time you were here, you were neither the interim nor the undisputed. Now you got it all.

Israel Adesanya 0:14 I'm the double interim champ.

Joe Rogan 0:15 You got it. Why, why say dou- you, you keep saying that, "double interim."

Israel Adesanya 0:18 Double interim. I don't know, 'cause when I w-

Joe Rogan 0:20 Robert Whittaker's the champ.

Israel Adesanya 0:21 Yeah. He was.

Joe Rogan 0:22 You knocked him out.

Israel Adesanya 0:23 He was the champ.

Joe Rogan 0:23 You're the champ.

Israel Adesanya 0:24 'Cause when I was the, you know, I f- even my last fight, I feel like it's my first title defense, to be honest, 'cause I was waiting for something to change. I was waiting for that feeling that I had in Atlanta, but it never came. And within three days I was like, I felt like I just defended the belt, 'cause technically I was the champ as well. I was the champ, and if he had beat me, he would've got one of those rubies you put on this. So, I'm looking for my ruby as well, 'cause-

Joe Rogan 0:44 They get a ruby?

Israel Adesanya 0:45 Yeah. Like, that's the thing. You don't get... You know how you used to get a new belt?

Joe Rogan 0:47 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 0:48 Yeah, you don't get a new belt anymore. So what they do is, they, you send this off. This isn't actually my one, my one.

Joe Rogan 0:55 Wh-

Israel Adesanya 0:55 I've sent it off.

Joe Rogan 0:55 This isn't yours?

Israel Adesanya 0:56 Yeah, but then, they brought it-

Joe Rogan 0:57 You sent yours already?

Israel Adesanya 0:58 I, I sent-

Joe Rogan 0:58 Oh, okay.

Israel Adesanya 0:58 You take this plaque off, this plaque on the side, and then you send it off, then they put a ruby and send it back to you, and then you can put it on-

Joe Rogan 1:03 They put a ruby in the plaque?

Israel Adesanya 1:04 Yeah. So you collect like-

Joe Rogan 1:06 Oh.

Israel Adesanya 1:06 ... the Infinity Stones or whatever.

Joe Rogan 1:07 Oh.

Israel Adesanya 1:08 Yeah. So I got the Soul Stone.

Joe Rogan 1:09 Some Thanos shit. Oh.

Israel Adesanya 1:11 Yeah. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:11 Dude, I used to not like this belt. Now I like it better.

Israel Adesanya 1:14 It's grown. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:15 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 1:15 It took me like, maybe two days after everyone complained about it, then I looked at it, and I, when I first saw it, I think it was at the PIs, and I was like, "You know what? I fuck with it."

Joe Rogan 1:22 Yeah. I, I, for a while I was like, "Ah, the old one was better."

Israel Adesanya 1:26 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:26 And now I'm like, "I don't think so anymore. I like this one."

Israel Adesanya 1:27 Nostalgia. Nostalgia.

Joe Rogan 1:29 Yeah. Yeah, it gets you every time.

Israel Adesanya 1:30 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:30 This one's cleaner.

Israel Adesanya 1:31 Yeah, very.

Joe Rogan 1:31 It's just like, sharp.

Israel Adesanya 1:32 More legible.

Joe Rogan 1:33 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 1:33 The old one, it was cool.

Joe Rogan 1:35 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 1:35 And I still liked it. I could buy one on the website hopefully. But you know-

Joe Rogan 1:37 Yeah, but those are light.

Israel Adesanya 1:38 Yeah, but you just for, like, nostalgic purposes, and just 'cause-

Joe Rogan 1:42 Right.

Israel Adesanya 1:42 ... you know, I've been a fan. I shoulda got one of those. I came at the, the end of it.

Joe Rogan 1:46 Colby's still walking around with one. (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 1:48 Man, don't get attached to these things, man. I only ta- I flex with them for a little bit, you know? 'Cause it's, I f- even my, um, my last, after, after Atlanta, my coach, he was kinda worried 'cause I was going to Nigeria, I was going to all these shows. I gotta like, show it off, flex it. But he's my coach, so Eugene's like, "Man, you know, don't think you're the champ yet." But I'm like, "Yeah, yeah, I'm the champ." But then there was a point where we moved gyms, and I just kinda, all right, put it in this box with everything else.

Joe Rogan 2:12 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 2:12 And then he kinda posted about it, 'cause he saw like, okay, the switch happened, like it's game time now. So same thing, I'm doing my tour right now, victory tour, walk around, do all this shit. But then, even being at the fights last weekend, I got FOMO, 'cause, you know, after the fights, I, uh, you know, I see what's up, people talking about me, rah-ta-rah-ta-rah. So I'm like, "Man, I gotta get back to the gym." So when I get back, I don't even look at this thing.

Joe Rogan 2:32 That's interesting. So you're aware that you could get too into the moment.

Israel Adesanya 2:38 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 2:38 You can get too wrapped up in the fact that you won the title-

Israel Adesanya 2:41 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 2:41 ... and maybe slack off a little.

Israel Adesanya 2:42 100%.

Joe Rogan 2:42 Or maybe take yourself too seriously.

Israel Adesanya 2:45 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 2:45 Hmm, that's interesting.

Israel Adesanya 2:45 No, 'cause I mean, a lot of people, this is their goal. They're like, "I wanna become the UFC champion." They get it done, and then what happens after in their next fight? They lose it. Or-

Joe Rogan 2:53 Right.

Israel Adesanya 2:53 ... they lose sight, tr- track of what really matters. So some guys, like Colby for example, he's walking around with the belt when Usman whoops his ass, or if Usman whoops his ass, then what's gonna happen? You're gonna walk around with that belt. How you gonna feel, you know?

Joe Rogan 3:06 Well, I, the, the Colby thing is interesting.

Israel Adesanya 3:09 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 3:09 And I don't know how much Colby wants people talking about this, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna spill it as much as I can.

Israel Adesanya 3:13 Ooh.

Joe Rogan 3:13 That's an act, man.

Israel Adesanya 3:15 I know.

Joe Rogan 3:15 That's a strong act-

Israel Adesanya 3:16 100%.

Joe Rogan 3:16 ... that he put on when they were ready to cut him. They were ready to cut. You talk to that guy in real life-

Israel Adesanya 3:20 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 3:20 ... he's very respectful.

Israel Adesanya 3:21 Just being around him, just being, and said he's the nicest guy you've listened to, yeah.

Joe Rogan 3:23 He's a nice guy, man. He's playing a pro wrestling heel-

Israel Adesanya 3:27 Hey, man.

Joe Rogan 3:27 ... and he's got the whole world worked up.

Israel Adesanya 3:29 It sells, it sells, that's the thing.

Joe Rogan 3:30 It sells, and here's the thing though. This is where it's interesting.

Israel Adesanya 3:33 Hmm.

Joe Rogan 3:33 It tricks people, because he seems (hands clap) like a goof. He's wears-

Israel Adesanya 3:37 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 3:37 ... this stupid fucking cheap blue suit. He wears that MAGA hat.

Israel Adesanya 3:40 Does that smile.

Joe Rogan 3:41 He's got the old belt.

Israel Adesanya 3:43 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 3:43 And you know it's not a legit belt, right?

Israel Adesanya 3:44 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 3:44 But he did win the interim title-

Israel Adesanya 3:46 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 3:46 ... and they took it from him for no reason. It doesn't make any sense. So there's this thing about him where people somehow or another think like, maybe he's illegitimate, maybe he's not real. Then he fucks Robbie Lawler up.

Israel Adesanya 3:57 Yeah. He can work.

Joe Rogan 3:57 And, and you go, "Oh, Jesus, this guy doesn't get tired. He can strike. His wrestling's on point. His fucking cardio's off the chart."

Israel Adesanya 4:04 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 4:04 "He's tough as nails."

Israel Adesanya 4:06 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 4:06 He's-

Israel Adesanya 4:06 I was impressed on the inside though.

Joe Rogan 4:07 ... he's legit.

Israel Adesanya 4:07 Especially when, when he put Robbie against the fence, he was right there slipping and ripping.

Joe Rogan 4:11 Oh, yeah.

Israel Adesanya 4:12 Some things, you know, everyone has holes in their game. I have holes in my game. But he was really impressive, the way he was right there in his face-

Joe Rogan 4:18 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 4:18 ... against Robbie Lawler.

Joe Rogan 4:19 He's not an elite striker-

Israel Adesanya 4:21 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 4:21 ... in the sense of like, he's a guy who will slip and then blast someone unconscious with one shot.

Israel Adesanya 4:26 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 4:26 He's a volume guy.

Israel Adesanya 4:27 He's tough.

Joe Rogan 4:28 And he's, he's throwing 60%.

Israel Adesanya 4:29 Mm.

Joe Rogan 4:29 50%, 60%, just on you, on you, on you.

Israel Adesanya 4:32 That's it, the Diaz style.

Joe Rogan 4:33 Never... Yep, never let you rest, never let you rest.

Israel Adesanya 4:35 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 4:35 And Robbie in that fight, and Robbie's a fucking all-time great welterweight champion.

Israel Adesanya 4:40 Savage.

Joe Rogan 4:40 I mean, he was a legit top of the food chain motherfucker-

Israel Adesanya 4:43 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 4:43 ... and he was looking for those openings that were never there.

Israel Adesanya 4:46 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 4:46 He was always looking for Colby to slow down. Colby never slowed down.

Israel Adesanya 4:49 He was waiting.

Joe Rogan 4:49 He was waiting.

Israel Adesanya 4:49 You would just see him like, just waiting, waiting.

Joe Rogan 4:51 Yep.

Israel Adesanya 4:51 And he was just like, buying his time, buying his time.

Joe Rogan 4:53 Looking to explode. Yep.

Israel Adesanya 4:54 It's like, "Okay, fuck, fuck."

Joe Rogan 4:55 Yep.

Israel Adesanya 4:55 "All right, all right, here it is, here it is." And there's ways to do that. Like I did it against, um, Whittaker as well. You see it... (burps) Excuse me. (smacks lips) I always gotta burp.

Joe Rogan 5:03 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 5:04 Um, (laughs) it's times when he'll like... And I, I'll put a clip up of this. It's like a simple one, shifting, real simple, subtle thing.

Joe Rogan 5:10 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 5:10 You just move two step, one, two. That's it. I can see it when he'll like, bounce, bounce, "All right, I'm ready to go." You shift, you disrupt the pattern. Okay, reset, reset. About, about to attack, you know?

Joe Rogan 5:20 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 5:21 Even Wonderboy did it to, um, Luque-

Joe Rogan 5:23 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 5:23 ... past weekend.

Joe Rogan 5:23 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 5:23 You know, whenever he was bouncing, he's either, he's gonna bounce, bounce, and then Wonderboy shifts. So he was doing it with the offense, bounce, bounce, bounce, attack.

Joe Rogan 5:31 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 5:31 So he was just... That's all about rhythm.

Joe Rogan 5:33 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 5:33 I love that.

Joe Rogan 5:34 Well, you have something that Wonderboy has, that a few other people have, in, in that you're a specialist. In that being a specialist, and obviously you have a full game. You, there's no way you get to where you are without a full game. But you-

Israel Adesanya 5:47 You're working.

Joe Rogan 5:47 ... you are an elite striker.

Israel Adesanya 5:49 Thank you.

Joe Rogan 5:49 And with that, that's a, that's a giant advantage, 'cause on the feet, you are a step ahead of everybody.

Israel Adesanya 5:55 Every fight starts standing on the feet.

Joe Rogan 5:57 And you see it with Whittaker, because Whittaker's a great striker.

Israel Adesanya 5:59 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 5:59 He's a tough guy. But he had holes in his game that maybe he didn't even know he had.

Israel Adesanya 6:03 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 6:04 But you, you could see it.

Israel Adesanya 6:04 You know what it was? I got in his head, and everyone, like, when... Huh, I can see this kinda stuff, man.Before the press- before the fight, at the press conference when he was talking and acting all unbothered and stuff like that, and I was like, "What? He's acting out of character." People... He put this meme up, right? And then people thought I was affected by the meme, but all th- all that showed me was like, "You've never talked shit or poked fun at anyone you're fighting, but somehow, suddenly, you're poking fun at me. That's showing your first card. You're showing your first hand."

Joe Rogan 6:30 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 6:31 And a lot of things he's did throughout the, like, back- backtracking and whatnot, I was like, "You're showing me your hand. You're acting out of character."

Joe Rogan 6:37 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 6:37 Even my coach said the same thing. And I said, "Just do what got you to the dance. Don't try and talk shit with a guy who knows how to talk shit." I know he knows how to talk shit with his friends and shit like that, but not with me, the internet kid.

Joe Rogan 6:48 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 6:48 It's different. Don't make memes against me. I'm the Meme Majesty. But like, yeah, so I... And then when he ca- when he came to the cage, you know, so you saw me when I walked up, I stomped the yard, stomped the yard and I, I entered the cage. And when he came in, I could, I could feel it. He was like, "Let's fucking go," you know, beating his chest-

Joe Rogan 7:04 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 7:04 ... at the thing he did. And he took about a minute and a bit before he looked me in the eyes, and I was li- I was looking at him the whole time. And he... Like a cat, you corner... Even a chicken, get one of your chickens, corner it like a rooster. It's dangerous. You gotta... When you corner any kinda beast, they'll, they'll attack you at any point. So I could see him pacing back and forth like a caged animal, and the whole time, like he was the hunt- he was the hunted and I was the per- I was, I was the hunter. So I was watching him and I could feel it, like, "Yo, you're not really about this," and he's trying to hype himself up, "Let's fucking go."

Joe Rogan 7:35 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 7:35 And I could just smell that. And when I went in my stance, I was like, whoop, whoop. Like, this is something I was doing during sparring, like during my, my training camp. So I was just triggering this, this mem- like muscle memory in my head. And I was just having fun. There's this point I looked at him, I kinda smiled like, "Fuck yeah, I got this." And I just knew from that point, man, I was on his... And the first round, I thought I lost the first round without the knockdown, just like... I let him have it, but then I watched it back, I threw less strikes, I landed more. He threw more strikes and landed less. All I was doing was just l- and w- me and Eugene talked about this like, "Let the first round, or the first half of the fight, let's see what he does. Just get all his attacks, draw, sh- make him show his hand, make him draw, you know, sh- draw, draw the attacks out of him." And I did that. And after I watched it again, I was like, "Yeah, without the knockdown I still had the round."

Joe Rogan 8:22 It was a brilliant performance.

Israel Adesanya 8:23 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 8:23 And the, the knockdown at the end of the first round was essentially the end of the fight.

Israel Adesanya 8:27 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 8:28 He was fucked up.

Israel Adesanya 8:28 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 8:29 It was, that was a bad knockdown. You could see when he went back to his corner, there's, there's a moment where you see his eyes are just not quite there.

Israel Adesanya 8:36 What is this? Where am I?

Joe Rogan 8:36 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 8:36 Like after the... even before the second round, he stood up. And when Kelvin rocked me after I got rocked, my first time being rocked in the UFC, in the second round I was j- before the second round, I was like, "All right, le- let's go. Let's step it up." He was looking at the screen, Robert was looking at the screen like, "What hit me? What hit me?"

Joe Rogan 8:53 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 8:53 And I was like, "Hey, hey, that's in the past. That's done. Focus on me right now anyway."

Joe Rogan 9:00 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 9:00 I was like, "All right then, (laughs) let's go."

Joe Rogan 9:02 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 9:02 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 9:03 Um, when it was over-

Israel Adesanya 9:05 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 9:05 ... when they stopped the fight, you raised your hand. Uh, what's that feeling like knowing that you're the undisputed champ?

Israel Adesanya 9:10 It felt like just my title defense, honestly.

Joe Rogan 9:13 Really?

Israel Adesanya 9:13 Atlanta, Atlanta was the one where they put my hand up and I felt like, "Yes."

Joe Rogan 9:17 Why, why Atlanta? Why that?

Israel Adesanya 9:18 That fight-

Joe Rogan 9:18 Because the fight was so hard?

Israel Adesanya 9:20 Yeah, I think 'cause of the way the fight went, the back and forth. And then me, that, that fifth round, like I, I found out who I was after that, th- that, that fifth round. I, I found out the depths I'm willing to go. So when they put my hand up, and you know, you're beat up and all that kinda stuff, just... And also I never had a belt before, so I've, I've never had it wrapped around my waist as I visualized it. So once that happened, boom, I felt like, "Yes." And also I was looking, I was like, "Please judges, don't screw me over. Don't fuck me over on this, man."

Joe Rogan 9:46 Ooh.

Israel Adesanya 9:46 And I knew I had it, but, you know.

Joe Rogan 9:48 You never know with those assholes.

Israel Adesanya 9:49 Exactly, bro. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 9:50 Dude.

Israel Adesanya 9:51 And then look at the Darren Till Gassman fight.

Joe Rogan 9:53 Yeah, right.

Israel Adesanya 9:53 So when they put my hand up, I was like, "Yes." But then this time they put my hand up, I was like, "All right, what's next?" And the thing is I... my, my brain wants to move forward 'cause I did it in kickboxing 'cause I was undefeated for so long, so it was always like, "All right, cool, what's next?" I'll watch the fight maybe once, study it, "All right, what's next?" But now I have to like chill, relax, look at the tape, look at what you've done, and then soak it in. Smell the roses for a little bit and then move on.

Joe Rogan 10:19 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 10:19 'Cause once I had my first loss, I, I took winning for granted 'cause it was just a habit. I was always winning, always winning, always winning. So now after like, when you win, when you do something amazing like I did in Atlanta, like I did in Melbourne, just chill, smell the roses, and then move forward.

Joe Rogan 10:35 When you entered the fifth round against-

Israel Adesanya 10:38 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 10:38 ... Kelvin, you said, "I'm ready to die."

Israel Adesanya 10:41 Yeah, well, as I looked at him, and I remember, I call it Ɛsé Diáblo. He was looking at me and he just had this, like, look and he's just swinging his hands. And I said, "You're not gonna beat me. I'm prepared to die." And I meant that, man. I swear to God on my life I meant that. I'm even getting goosebumps thinking... See that?

Joe Rogan 10:56 I'm getting goosebumps too.

Israel Adesanya 10:57 (laughs) Like, I meant that shit 'cause I was like, "Look."

Joe Rogan 10:59 Whoo.

Israel Adesanya 10:59 And I signed, I signed my death warrant right there. I was like, "Look, if this is how I die, this is how I die." But you see me, I was trying to get him. I was trying to kill him. I knew, 'cause for me, if I'm ready to die, I'm ready to kill. You have to be willing to give something up as well. So in that fifth round when I was throwing those shots, when I was... I, I think I dropped him like four times or something crazy. Like, even the last one, like went from heaven, it hit him. I wished I didn't, like, follow and like roll over on him 'cause I probably could have got him out with like two seconds left. But I was trying to get him out of there, man. And it's sad to say, but I was ready. If he had taken it to me and he... if he had done that to me and I didn't wake up, so be it.

Joe Rogan 11:39 Well, that was evident in the way you fought because you did-

Israel Adesanya 11:43 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 11:43 ... you didn't... yo- you know, it was a close fight, but it looked like you were ahead on the judges. But you didn't take, I mean, any break at all.

Israel Adesanya 11:50 No.

Joe Rogan 11:50 You, you just... You threw yourself into the fire instead of being cautious, you know.

Israel Adesanya 11:54 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 11:54 And I,I told that to Dana. You know, Dana and I were talking about that fight and he was, he was talking about how hyped he is for Whittaker. They tried to get me to fly to Australia.

Israel Adesanya 12:01 Mm-hmm. Don't do it.

Joe Rogan 12:01 I love you, I love you, bro, but I'm not doing that.

Israel Adesanya 12:03 I know. Don't do it. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 12:04 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 12:04 Even me trying... Like right now I've canceled a lot of my trips 'cause also, you know, my knee, but also just FOMO. Being away from the gym, like-... you feel it after a while.

Joe Rogan 12:13 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 12:13 Especially at this level. Like, after the fight, 'cause, uh, you can see the target on your back, people smile in your face, you know.

Joe Rogan 12:18 Oh, yeah.

Israel Adesanya 12:18 And then, yeah. And I know what's up. I'm not stupid.

Joe Rogan 12:21 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 12:21 I've seen a lot of people in this game rise and fall, 100%, all the time. So, I wanna get back to doing what I do best.

Joe Rogan 12:27 Dana and I have these conversations sometimes. We get hyped up and talk on the phone.

Israel Adesanya 12:30 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 12:30 And we were talking about that fight, and I said, "Do you know what he said?"

Israel Adesanya 12:33 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 12:33 You literally said it in the fifth round.

Israel Adesanya 12:35 Yeah. I, I have it on my, um, it was a highlight I made by myself, and then I had it in the captions and I was like, "You know, you're not... You're gonna beat me. I'm ready to die. I'm prepared to die."

Joe Rogan 12:43 (coughs) I said it to Dana.

Israel Adesanya 12:44 Man, that's some, that's some movie-type shit, man.

Joe Rogan 12:45 That is movie-type shit.

Israel Adesanya 12:46 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 12:46 Especially when you win.

Israel Adesanya 12:47 Yeah, 100%.

Joe Rogan 12:48 You know? And Da- Dana just went, "Holy shit."

Israel Adesanya 12:50 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 12:50 I said, "Dude, watch it. Just watch it again. He's saying it."

Israel Adesanya 12:52 I mouthed it.

Joe Rogan 12:53 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 12:53 Yeah. With my big lip.

Joe Rogan 12:56 It was intense. (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 12:56 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 12:57 (coughs) That was a hell of a fight, man.

Israel Adesanya 12:59 I guess-

Joe Rogan 12:59 That was a hell of a fight.

Israel Adesanya 13:00 That was fun. Yeah, I don't wanna have much, much like those. But you have to get that.

Joe Rogan 13:03 You know-

Israel Adesanya 13:03 'Cause after that fight, even, like, probably about two minutes after, I was like, (sniffs) "I can go another two rounds." I felt it. I was like, "This is like the third wind."

Joe Rogan 13:10 Wow.

Israel Adesanya 13:11 It's like, "Oh, shit." And I'm not just saying this to, like, gas you up.

Joe Rogan 13:13 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 13:13 I'm saying like, I was like, (sniffs) "I can go another two rounds." And you can see it, like, I felt fresh, man. I've never... This is my, that was my second fifth five-round fight. When I fought this time last year against, um, what's his name? (smacks lips) Oh, July of last year, Brad Tavares, fifth round, I was just having fun. I didn't even, like... I wouldn't say I took my foot off the pedal, but I was having fun with it. And this fight, like I said, you know, fifth round, I was ready. And I said that for the Romero fight and, um, what's his name, Whittaker fight. I said, "Look, look how he looked in the fifth round. He's got gas." Don't get me wrong, he can, he can crack. Same thing with Romero, but Romero and him, they don't have the same kinda spice as I do.

Joe Rogan 13:50 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 13:50 You know, when I'm in... When I'm in the trenches, when it's time to go, I can go, 'cause I do it in the gym every day.

Joe Rogan 13:55 You wanted Romero for your next fight.

Israel Adesanya 13:57 Is... There's resistance about that?

Joe Rogan 13:57 I'm a charitable guy sometimes, man. I'm a charitable guy.

Israel Adesanya 14:00 Charitable? (laughs) You know what I mean? He's coming off three out of four losses, three in a row, so I'm like-

Joe Rogan 14:04 Yeah, but all of those could've been his.

Israel Adesanya 14:05 Yeah, I know. But... And also-

Joe Rogan 14:07 Really.

Israel Adesanya 14:07 ... the people, the people, the casuals, they think this is the guy. Well, first of all, I think Brunson was the guy.

Joe Rogan 14:12 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 14:13 And then Gaslim was the guy.

Joe Rogan 14:14 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 14:15 And then Whittaker's the guy. So, they think this is the guy to beat me. So I'm like, "All right, (clicks tongue) this is my charity work for the year." (laughs)

Joe Rogan 14:22 Well, he's an interesting fight for anybody.

Israel Adesanya 14:24 Yeah, 100%.

Joe Rogan 14:25 Because he's a freak athlete.

Israel Adesanya 14:26 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 14:26 I mean, that, that... If you look up freak in the dictionary-

Israel Adesanya 14:28 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 14:28 ... you see a picture of Yoel Romero flying through the air, hitting Chri- Chris Weidman with a knee.

Israel Adesanya 14:32 (laughs) Yeah.

Joe Rogan 14:33 I mean, he's just a freak.

Israel Adesanya 14:34 I remember his first fight I saw him, he did the same thing to this Black guy, bald Black guy. Flying knee, boom, and just kinda starched him. Just ran at him.

Joe Rogan 14:40 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 14:41 But, there's... It's lev- This is what, this is what rises me to the occasion.

Joe Rogan 14:45 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 14:45 This is what challenges me is 'cause a guy like that, like you say, he's a beast. Same thing with Robert, he's a beast.

Joe Rogan 14:51 Yep.

Israel Adesanya 14:51 But there's levels to this, and if you can make that look easy, it just makes you look that, like your status, legendary, go- all that shit.

Joe Rogan 14:59 That's what you want?

Israel Adesanya 15:00 It just starts to come. Yeah, all the-

Joe Rogan 15:00 So you want to look easy against Yoel?

Israel Adesanya 15:01 This is nice, but it just looks good.

Joe Rogan 15:02 Right.

Israel Adesanya 15:02 You know what I'm saying? But it's all about the, the challenges.

Joe Rogan 15:05 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 15:05 Taking out Robert Whittaker in the second round in his home country, you know, doing that to Yo- Romero. Maybe not in Cuba, I don't know what, what the situation is like there. But, like, in Vegas, in a big arena, T- T-Mobile Arena, that would be fucking dope.

Joe Rogan 15:19 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 15:19 But, the- Dana said, you know, "Oh, he's gotta get a win first." The thing is they don't know how to sell it, like, to the people. And I'm like, "Fuck it, let's do it anyway." And I've said... And even his manager at the fights, for whatever reason, while I was walking in, was like, "Hey, Israel, we signed the contract." And I was like... I didn't know who it was. And he was like, "Hey, we signed the contract. Just tell Dana." I was like, "Okay."

Joe Rogan 15:39 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 15:40 (laughs) Had my drink in my hand, kept on walking like, "Cool story, bro."

Joe Rogan 15:43 "Well, he signed the contr- How... What the fuck does that... Dana has said there's no-

Israel Adesanya 15:46 Yeah, but he was trying to say-

Joe Rogan 15:47 There's no deal."

Israel Adesanya 15:47 You know, it's the hype. And then, like-

Joe Rogan 15:48 Right.

Israel Adesanya 15:48 ... someone might... (laughs) They sent me this other video of him in the gym saying, "Israel, why you backing out? Why you, why you backing out?" You know? "Just tell Dana the fucking day." I'm like, "I did."

Joe Rogan 15:58 "I know you."

Israel Adesanya 15:58 He don't love me.

Joe Rogan 15:59 "Israel, I know you."

Israel Adesanya 16:00 He don't love me. He can love me all he want, he don't love me. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 16:03 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 16:03 But I'm saying, like, I wanna do the fight. I said, "Look, this is the guy," right?

Joe Rogan 16:07 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 16:07 "This is the guy who's gonna take me down and beat the fuck out of me." Okay, no one's been able to do that yet. So, let's see if this guy can do it, or let's see if I can take him down.

Joe Rogan 16:16 Well, you know, the thing is too, you have to get him now.

Israel Adesanya 16:19 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 16:19 Because he's 41 now, I think? 40, 41?

Israel Adesanya 16:22 I know, right? He's old.

Joe Rogan 16:23 Yeah. And that's two good years.

Israel Adesanya 16:23 And that's the thing, when I beat him as well, that's what they're gonna say.

Joe Rogan 16:25 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 16:25 "Oh, you know, you beat a..." You know? (clicks tongue)

Joe Rogan 16:27 He's still a beast.

Israel Adesanya 16:28 40, 41.

Joe Rogan 16:28 He's still a beast.

Israel Adesanya 16:28 I keep telling people as well. When he fought R- Robert Whittaker, they didn't have that narrative.

Joe Rogan 16:32 No.

Israel Adesanya 16:32 They didn't say-

Joe Rogan 16:32 I think he beat Whittaker.

Israel Adesanya 16:33 I think the second time, he beat Whi-

Joe Rogan 16:34 Yeah, second fight.

Israel Adesanya 16:35 How many times he dropped him, man.

Joe Rogan 16:36 Yeah, he hurt him bad.

Israel Adesanya 16:37 Straight up. Badly.

Joe Rogan 16:37 And, and if you look at those 10-8 rules, you know, the, the new, new rules, he won.

Israel Adesanya 16:42 Yeah, I agree.

Joe Rogan 16:42 If you look at... You, you judge it by the new judging system-

Israel Adesanya 16:44 I said that.

Joe Rogan 16:44 ... he won.

Israel Adesanya 16:45 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 16:45 I thought he won, period.

Israel Adesanya 16:46 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 16:46 I just thought he won.

Israel Adesanya 16:47 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 16:47 I mean, and Whittaker's a fucking animal, man.

Israel Adesanya 16:49 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 16:49 He hung in there with that guy blasting him on the chin, but he hurt him and he hurt him bad.

Israel Adesanya 16:53 Yeah, very.

Joe Rogan 16:54 Uh, several times. But, uh, the Y- Polo Costa fight, I th-

Israel Adesanya 16:58 Oh, my g- my guy. That's my guy.

Joe Rogan 16:59 Yeah, that's your boy.

Israel Adesanya 17:01 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 17:01 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 17:01 My favorite friend, living la vida, Costa. Let's go.

Joe Rogan 17:04 I felt like that, that fight was, uh, legit either one could've got that tit-

Israel Adesanya 17:09 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 17:09 I think I, I, I agreed with it when Costa won. I said, "Okay, I could see that."

Israel Adesanya 17:13 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 17:13 But if they gave it to Romero, I would've been like, "Well, I could see that too."

Israel Adesanya 17:15 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 17:16 You know, he did-

Israel Adesanya 17:16 I think Costa won that fight.

Joe Rogan 17:17 Yeah, I think so.

Israel Adesanya 17:17 I give Costa... Like I say, he just stole it. Just stole the fight.

Joe Rogan 17:20 Just stole... Yeah, I think that's the way to look at it, just stole it.

Israel Adesanya 17:21 And also the draw... When he dropped him in the first round, that really solidified it.

Joe Rogan 17:24 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 17:24 And Romero was trying his best to come back, but just a step behind.

Joe Rogan 17:28 Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 17:28 In my eyes, anyway.

Joe Rogan 17:29 Yeah, I think so.

Israel Adesanya 17:29 But like you said, if... Hey, roll the dice sometimes.

Joe Rogan 17:32 (coughs) R- what... The thing that's shocking about Romero is how well he takes a shot.

Israel Adesanya 17:36 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 17:37 There's a picture of Costa kicking him in the head that I put on Instagram-

Israel Adesanya 17:40 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 17:40 ... where it looks like his soul is leaving his body, like his eyes are-

Israel Adesanya 17:43 What?

Joe Rogan 17:43 ... rolling back in his head. That shin is-

Israel Adesanya 17:45 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 17:45 ... wrapping around his head, his whole head-

Israel Adesanya 17:47 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 17:47 ... is distorted.

Israel Adesanya 17:48 I think it's the traps.

Joe Rogan 17:49 And he didn't flinch.

Israel Adesanya 17:49 It's all those traps.

Joe Rogan 17:50 He might be, right?

Israel Adesanya 17:50 Yeah, it just holds his head in place, holds his brain in place.

Joe Rogan 17:52 Right, right.

Israel Adesanya 17:53 Like, the stem just doesn't move.

Joe Rogan 17:54 Well, you know, he had a pretty severe neck injury. If you look at the back of his neck, he's got a giant scar up his neck-

Israel Adesanya 17:59 Oh, really?

Joe Rogan 18:00 ... where he had his discs fused. Look at that picture.

Israel Adesanya 18:02 Damn. Woo!

Joe Rogan 18:02 What in the fuck, dude? I mean-

Israel Adesanya 18:04 That distorted... That sent his face into the fucking black hole of another universe. (buzzer sound) Shit.

Joe Rogan 18:08 I mean, that is full impact. That's- uh-

Israel Adesanya 18:11 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 18:11 I don't-

Israel Adesanya 18:11 He even turned the hip on that.

Joe Rogan 18:12 Yes. It's all in.

Israel Adesanya 18:14 Robert did one on him as well, but this is, uh, a lot cleaner.

Joe Rogan 18:17 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 18:17 A lot nicer.

Joe Rogan 18:17 God damn.

Israel Adesanya 18:18 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 18:18 I mean, he's, he's taken giant shots. I think Brunson hit him with a high head kick as well.

Israel Adesanya 18:23 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 18:23 Wrapped around the neck. Nothing.

Israel Adesanya 18:25 Nah.

Joe Rogan 18:25 I, I think his neck is, like, one solid piece.

Israel Adesanya 18:27 Yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 18:28 It just goes right-

Israel Adesanya 18:29 Trapzilla.

Joe Rogan 18:29 I don't know what the fuck they did in, in Cuba to his neck when they did that operation on it.

Israel Adesanya 18:33 When they fuse them. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 18:33 But he's all fused up and (Italian accent) he, he walk kinda stiff.

Israel Adesanya 18:36 Does he?

Joe Rogan 18:37 You know, he's-

Israel Adesanya 18:37 I've seen him around. He's im- especially when he's not cutting weight, like, he's tight.

Joe Rogan 18:40 He's huge.

Israel Adesanya 18:40 He's heavy, boy.

Joe Rogan 18:41 He's huge.

Israel Adesanya 18:42 But he's... You know, he can move, 443.

Joe Rogan 18:45 Oh, my God.

Israel Adesanya 18:45 He can move. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 18:45 He's real flexible.

Israel Adesanya 18:46 I've seen.

Joe Rogan 18:47 Very flexible.

Israel Adesanya 18:47 I've seen him doing the splits-

Joe Rogan 18:48 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 18:48 ... when he was doing that dance on one clip. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 18:50 Th- did that... Cuban Olympic program is no joke.

Israel Adesanya 18:52 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 18:52 I mean, the... When he described it, he came on with Joey Diaz.

Israel Adesanya 18:55 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 18:55 And did you, did you watch that one?

Israel Adesanya 18:56 I saw bits of it. Yeah, bits of it.

Joe Rogan 18:57 It was amazing-

Israel Adesanya 18:57 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 18:57 ... 'cause Joey was translating from Cuban to English-

Israel Adesanya 18:59 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 18:59 ... and they were talking about the program.

Israel Adesanya 19:01 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 19:01 Like, they, they just train them and they put them in this situation where if you win, you get more food-

Israel Adesanya 19:09 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 19:09 ... and you get a better place to stay.

Israel Adesanya 19:11 It's punchy out there.

Joe Rogan 19:11 And if you lose, you get two meals a day if you lose, you get three meals a day if you win.

Israel Adesanya 19:14 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 19:15 And these guys are... They're competing against the best in the world.

Israel Adesanya 19:17 Yeah. It's the hunger.

Joe Rogan 19:18 And it's just every day is battle, battle. You know? He's like, (Italian accent) "Everybody I'm with wants to kill me."

Israel Adesanya 19:24 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 19:24 "And you become a machine."

Israel Adesanya 19:26 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 19:26 "You be become a machine."

Israel Adesanya 19:29 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 19:29 'Cause it's like... You know, when you see the dude-

Israel Adesanya 19:31 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 19:31 First of all, when you're sitting across from him, you're like, "Okay-"

Israel Adesanya 19:33 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 19:33 "... with you, I know you're heavier than 185 pounds, but it's feasible."

Israel Adesanya 19:37 (exhales) Nah.

Joe Rogan 19:37 Y-... What do you, like... What do you walk around at, like, 200?

Israel Adesanya 19:39 Right now, I guess 203, right now, I guess.

Joe Rogan 19:42 Yeah, that's, that's feasible. Yoel looks like he's 220.

Israel Adesanya 19:44 That's just 'cause America, man. America, you gotta realize, man-

Joe Rogan 19:46 The food?

Israel Adesanya 19:46 The food. Oh, my God, like I-

Joe Rogan 19:48 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 19:48 I forget every time, you gotta order small 'cause you order naturals, like, large, they coming in a platter. Like, don't fuck around.

Joe Rogan 19:54 Yeah, people like to get fat-

Israel Adesanya 19:55 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 19:55 ... over here.

Israel Adesanya 19:56 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 19:56 We like everything big.

Israel Adesanya 19:57 Luckily, uh, metabolism for me is good.

Joe Rogan 19:58 You're lucky.

Israel Adesanya 19:59 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 19:59 Yeah. We like everything big over here.

Israel Adesanya 20:01 Right.

Joe Rogan 20:01 Everything outrageous.

Israel Adesanya 20:02 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 20:03 Yeah. This is an outri-

Israel Adesanya 20:04 I've noticed.

Joe Rogan 20:04 ... outrageous country. (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 20:07 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 20:08 We use-

Israel Adesanya 20:08 Exhibit A. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 20:09 (laughs) Yeah. Exhibit A, the blowtorch.

Israel Adesanya 20:10 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 20:10 But you were saying even drinks-

Israel Adesanya 20:12 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 20:12 ... they, they pour bigger drinks over here.

Israel Adesanya 20:13 Yeah. Like, I'm surprised. Like, it's... I think it's part of the culture as well. Like, you order-

Joe Rogan 20:17 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 20:17 ... you say a double, they're like, "No, it comes in a double." I'm like, "Oh. Double-double?" And then literally you have to ask for more Coke or more Fantas or whatever.

Joe Rogan 20:24 Just to water it down.

Israel Adesanya 20:25 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 20:25 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 20:26 The ice helps, though, man.

Joe Rogan 20:27 (laughs) Do you like New Zealand?

Israel Adesanya 20:29 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 20:29 Do you enjoy living there?

Israel Adesanya 20:30 I love New Zealand, man. Like, there was a time from... I think it was on... going into the new years of 2011, I was driving down from Auckland to Whanganui, and I was just going through by myself in my old car, Chewy, rapping, singing, just having fun. And I was just looking at the landscape, and that was the moment I decided that this is where I'm gonna stay. This is the country I'm gonna live in. 'Cause I always had this idea that I'm gonna go to Canada or America eventually, but also 'cause my gym's over there, my team's over there. Eugene's over there. My family... I've m- I've made friends there. I've grown up there. It's my, it's my other country, you know? So I love it over there. I love the vibe as well. It's a beautiful country. Have y-... You haven't been there.

Joe Rogan 21:04 I haven't been. I wanna go.

Israel Adesanya 21:05 You need to go. I saw Chad Mendes went through and got a big red.

Joe Rogan 21:08 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 21:09 You go out there, you can catch something, man. Like, that's like a 13-pointer I counted before.

Joe Rogan 21:13 Oh, the, the elk?

Israel Adesanya 21:13 Yeah, you can get some shit. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 21:14 Yeah, they have giant stags over there.

Israel Adesanya 21:16 Fuck. I just imagine, like, that with something that's 800 pounds behind it.

Joe Rogan 21:20 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 21:21 Or what is that? 1000 pounds, something crazy.

Joe Rogan 21:22 Yeah, that one that I have out in the front was over 1000 pounds.

Israel Adesanya 21:24 Shit.

Joe Rogan 21:25 The one when you walk in.

Israel Adesanya 21:26 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 21:26 He was huge.

Israel Adesanya 21:27 And I've seen some next to cars as well on YouTube. You just kinda... Just to get some perspective.

Joe Rogan 21:30 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 21:31 Yeah, fuck all that.

Joe Rogan 21:31 Have you eaten any of that?

Israel Adesanya 21:32 See, I told you the story that's made. Y-... What, uh, was the place? Costco. I asked the girl... I was gonna go to Utah... Not Utah. I was gonna go, um, to Alex Volkanovski's fight. So I asked her, "Where can I go get a chili bin?" And I went to Costco while they were cleaning out the Airbnb. And I also had some Nigerian food I ordered as well from Texas. So when I got back, racked everything, and I was like, "Fuck." And then you text me how to cook it and everything. And my coach, Eugene... 'Cause I really wanted to... He's a hunter, avid hunter. Like, after fights, first place he goes? In the bush, 'cause he wants to get away from all this.

Joe Rogan 22:03 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 22:04 So I was like, "I gotta share this with him." And then, yeah, they racked it, man. I'm sure they kept it. They threw it in the bin. I'm sure they kept it, but I hope they enjoyed it.

Joe Rogan 22:11 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 22:12 Yeah. But I gotta try some elk one day. Definitely, I will.

Joe Rogan 22:14 Anytime, man.

Israel Adesanya 22:15 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 22:15 Anytime you're around here. (clears throat)

Israel Adesanya 22:16 Appreciate that.

Joe Rogan 22:16 We wanna set up a kitchen in here.

Israel Adesanya 22:18 Oh, bro.

Joe Rogan 22:18 In the studio.

Israel Adesanya 22:19 This is, this is-

Joe Rogan 22:20 We could do that.

Israel Adesanya 22:20 ... like, the new Fantasy Factory, you know?

Joe Rogan 22:21 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 22:21 Like, actually. You walk around, and I'm like, "Man, I need one of these."

Joe Rogan 22:24 You do need one of these.

Israel Adesanya 22:24 One day. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 22:25 Yeah. H- have a gym and, right next to the gym, a fun house.

Israel Adesanya 22:28 Yeah. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 22:29 Yeah. You know? It's, it's good to have everything where you can do it all in one place, too.

Israel Adesanya 22:32 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 22:33 'Cause me, I, I just don't have any time. It's like-

Israel Adesanya 22:35 Yeah. So you need everything right there.

Joe Rogan 22:36 Yeah. It helps I can come in here two hours before a show-

Israel Adesanya 22:38 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 22:39 ... get a full workout in, shower, everything, even sauna, boom.

Israel Adesanya 22:42 Nice.

Joe Rogan 22:42 You know? Get it all done in one spot.

Israel Adesanya 22:44 Yeah. If you got a kitchen, definitely. I coulda, I coulda made me a sandwich or something.

Joe Rogan 22:46 Yeah, man.

Israel Adesanya 22:47 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 22:47 Well, we got a little baby kitchen, but we gotta, we gotta set up a grill in here.

Israel Adesanya 22:50 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 22:51 Um, what I was getting, uh, to... about New Zealand is the beauty, man.

Israel Adesanya 22:54 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 22:54 Like, there's something, I think, that... Like, when people think about places and places to live, you know, they think, "Oh, it's convenient."

Israel Adesanya 23:01 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 23:01 " This is an easy commute." This is, you know... It's a nice apartment or it's a nice house, whatever it is. But there's something about natural beauty.

Israel Adesanya 23:08 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 23:08 And it doesn't really get much beautiful, more beautiful-

Israel Adesanya 23:11 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 23:11 ... than New Zealand.

Israel Adesanya 23:11 And the South Island as well. Like, the North Island's cool, there's some spots. There's a lot of places... Like, for me, I travel all around the world, but whenever, like, I fly in and I see the Sky Tower and you can see the grant... like, the landscape of the place, it's beautiful. And I feel like, like Marshall when he sees the hills and he's about to go for a hike.

Joe Rogan 23:28 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 23:28 I'm just like, "Yes, almost home, almost home." But like, it's such a beautiful place. And when you... Queens, Queens, Queens, Queenstown? The South Island, the snow there, I haven't been, but I've seen everyone posting about it. But one day I'm gonna go.

Joe Rogan 23:39 There's snow in New Zealand?

Israel Adesanya 23:40 Fuck yeah.

Joe Rogan 23:41 Oh, yeah?

Israel Adesanya 23:41 Yeah. Mount Ruapehu, that's where I've been snowing, snowboarding years ago.

Joe Rogan 23:45 Wow.

Israel Adesanya 23:45 South Island, I've been to years ago when I was younger, like 12. But definitely, as an adult, I gotta go. It's different when you go with your parents and when you're going as an adult. So I gotta go out there, man. It's fucking beautiful.

Joe Rogan 23:55 It's a crazy place when it comes-

Israel Adesanya 23:56 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 23:56 ... to wildlife because they brought it all-

Israel Adesanya 23:58 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 23:58 ... from Europe.

Israel Adesanya 23:59 Yeah, they did. Even, like, I'm surprised. Um, in Auckland-

Joe Rogan 24:01 (coughs) .

Israel Adesanya 24:02 ... there's an island called Waiheke Island. It's, um, probably about a 20-minute ferry ride from the city.... and there's wallabys on there.

Joe Rogan 24:10 Oh, wow.

Israel Adesanya 24:10 I had no idea. And apparently, they're, uh, invasive species, 'cause the guy brought them from Australia. But then luckily, they're kept on the island now. But I've heard-

Joe Rogan 24:17 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 24:18 ... like, rumors now, they've kind of found their way, 'cause, you know, some crazy fuck decided, "I'm gonna keep this-" (imitates buzzer)

Joe Rogan 24:22 Of course.

Israel Adesanya 24:23 And then (laughs) -

Joe Rogan 24:24 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 24:24 ... they found their way to, like, Rotorua, the redwoods and all that kind of shit.

Joe Rogan 24:27 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 24:27 But yeah.

Joe Rogan 24:27 It's always some crazy fuck that wants a pet.

Israel Adesanya 24:29 I know.

Joe Rogan 24:30 (coughs) Florida's got a giant problem with that.

Israel Adesanya 24:32 Yeah, with the, what is it? Anacondas? Um-

Joe Rogan 24:34 Pythons, anacondas.

Israel Adesanya 24:35 ... what do you call it? Uh, wow, what's that guy, the Tarzan guy? He catches them all the time. Iguanas, iguanas as well. There's a lot of them and they killing them now. They trying-

Joe Rogan 24:43 Oh, yeah?

Israel Adesanya 24:43 ... like, yeah, they culling them, and-

Joe Rogan 24:45 They give you money if you kill iguanas.

Israel Adesanya 24:46 Really?

Joe Rogan 24:47 Yeah, 'cause they're digging under houses.

Israel Adesanya 24:48 Oh.

Joe Rogan 24:48 They dig tunnels-

Israel Adesanya 24:49 Oh, they fuck the base.

Joe Rogan 24:50 ... under houses, the foundations collapse.

Israel Adesanya 24:52 Oh, shit.

Joe Rogan 24:52 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 24:52 I didn't even know they dig.

Joe Rogan 24:53 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 24:53 I thought they were just in trees.

Joe Rogan 24:54 I thought so too.

Israel Adesanya 24:55 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 24:55 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 24:55 You learn something new every day. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 24:56 Apparently, they dig. They have so many pythons there, they said there's no more rabbits, there's no more marsh hares, uh, raccoons-

Israel Adesanya 25:03 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 25:03 ... deer.

Israel Adesanya 25:04 All gone.

Joe Rogan 25:04 Everything's gone.

Israel Adesanya 25:05 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 25:05 All pythons.

Israel Adesanya 25:06 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 25:06 Pythons are eating alligators.

Israel Adesanya 25:07 Yeah. Oh, yeah, I've seen.

Joe Rogan 25:09 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 25:09 Like, see them and they burst out.

Joe Rogan 25:10 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 25:10 And like, you see their legs sticking out and shit like that.

Joe Rogan 25:11 (clears throat) They even found Nile crocodiles in, in the Everglades.

Israel Adesanya 25:15 Really?

Joe Rogan 25:16 Some asshole-

Israel Adesanya 25:17 Some crazy fuck.

Joe Rogan 25:17 (laughs) Some asshole brought a Nile crocodile.

Israel Adesanya 25:19 Some guy, yeah.

Joe Rogan 25:19 They have a kill on sight warning for-

Israel Adesanya 25:21 Isn't it, like, even, was it Texas? They have more tigers-

Joe Rogan 25:24 Yep.

Israel Adesanya 25:25 ... or lions, like, in the wild?

Joe Rogan 25:25 Yeah, that was my Netflix special.

Israel Adesanya 25:27 Yeah, that's right, yeah.

Joe Rogan 25:27 There's more tigers in Texas-

Israel Adesanya 25:29 I knew I heard it from somewhere. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 25:29 ... than all of the wild of the world.

Israel Adesanya 25:32 Crazy.

Joe Rogan 25:33 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 25:33 Rich fucks. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 25:34 Fucking Texas. (laughs) Texas, Texas is so crazy.

Israel Adesanya 25:37 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 25:37 Do you spend much time out there?

Israel Adesanya 25:39 I've been there, when I first went there was when I think when I first met you, UFC 192, uh, DC Gustafsson.

Joe Rogan 25:46 Mm.

Israel Adesanya 25:47 Yeah, I was there. It was a good time. I didn't really, I just ate, that's all I did there, just eat-

Joe Rogan 25:52 Barbecue.

Israel Adesanya 25:52 ... and hang out. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 25:54 Barbecue in Texas.

Israel Adesanya 25:54 See, Dan was cutting away. This is when he was at featherweight and he was just like-

Joe Rogan 25:57 Oh.

Israel Adesanya 25:57 He was... Yeah, he fucking had me-

Joe Rogan 25:59 I don't know how the fuck that guy ever made featherweight.

Israel Adesanya 26:00 Bro, he b- like, I d- I asked him, "How you feeling?" He goes, "I feel great." And I'm like, "Yeah, you feel great." I f- I was hooked. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 26:06 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 26:06 I was marked. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 26:07 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 26:07 Then afterwards he's like, "Nah, I'm going up to lightweight." And you see him at lightweight now-

Joe Rogan 26:11 Much better.

Israel Adesanya 26:12 ... motherfucker.

Joe Rogan 26:12 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 26:12 Bro, I'm telling you, he's the one.

Joe Rogan 26:14 He could be.

Israel Adesanya 26:14 I wouldn't say, I won't, yeah, bro, I've seen some things, man. Hey, you-

Joe Rogan 26:17 He's a tough guy.

Israel Adesanya 26:18 I've had him on my back for four minutes-

Joe Rogan 26:20 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 26:20 ... of a five-minute round sparring and he's hard to get off, and he's good. Like, you know, some people in the gym, they shine, and some people under the bright lights, they shine. Some people can do both. And I'm telling you, yeah, he's, he's the one. Like, people don't know yet, there's some things he hasn't shown of his game that I'm w- I'm, I'm sure that like... (laughs) So, I was in the room when DC and Jon Anik were doing like the, you know, the fighter, um, what do you call it? Interview.

Joe Rogan 26:45 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 26:46 So, I did my one first and then they did Dan. (laughs) And Dan was telling me, like, Jon asked about the champ, you know, so da-da-da-da-da, you know, "How would you beat Khabib?" And he said he just saw DC go... (laughs) Like, lean in, like, "What?"

Joe Rogan 27:01 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 27:01 And then he had to kinda just, you know, say some bullshit, whatever, but-

Joe Rogan 27:04 Right.

Israel Adesanya 27:04 Yeah, like, I know how... 'Cause even like DC asked me to help me ch- help him train for the Jones fight, uh, the second one. And I turned it down because they had Rockhold in their camp.

Joe Rogan 27:13 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 27:13 And I wasn't in the UFC at the time, but I knew, "I don't wanna give them anything."

Joe Rogan 27:17 Right.

Israel Adesanya 27:17 I don't wanna give them anything. I don't want them to say, "Oh, he came to our camp," like I did with Blackzilians. And then they say, "Oh, you know, we see holes in his game, ra-ra-ra-ra."

Joe Rogan 27:24 Right.

Israel Adesanya 27:24 Which is all bullshit, but yeah, I just-

Joe Rogan 27:27 You just don't want the chatter.

Israel Adesanya 27:27 I don't want anything.

Joe Rogan 27:28 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 27:28 I want nothing, I don't wanna give him nothing.

Joe Rogan 27:30 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 27:30 Yeah, 'cause I always knew this was coming, so I was, I already planned it, plot your way, plot your way.

Joe Rogan 27:33 But you and I talked on Instagram years ago.

Israel Adesanya 27:36 2014?

Joe Rogan 27:37 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 27:37 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 27:37 And we were talking, I was like, "When, when am I gonna see you, bro?"

Israel Adesanya 27:39 I was surprised you hit me up. Yeah, but hey, I said, "Give me my time, let me work."

Joe Rogan 27:42 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 27:42 And I've been working, man. I've been working.

Joe Rogan 27:44 Well, I pay attention.

Israel Adesanya 27:45 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 27:45 I pay attention to dudes who shine.

Israel Adesanya 27:46 Thank you, sir.

Joe Rogan 27:47 Outside.

Israel Adesanya 27:48 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 27:48 You know, I, I know guys who are coming.

Israel Adesanya 27:49 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 27:49 You know, I know guys who are coming up. But I knew you had been thinking about MMA.

Israel Adesanya 27:52 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 27:52 And I, and I had been a fan of you as a kickboxer.

Israel Adesanya 27:54 Yeah. No, I've been working about it.

Joe Rogan 27:56 Well, I'm always fascinated by elite specialists that make their way into MMA, 'cause I'm always like, "Well, how is this gonna translate?" Is it, I think that it seems harder, (coughs) it seems harder-

Israel Adesanya 28:06 Bless you.

Joe Rogan 28:06 ... for a lot of grapplers who don't have a background in striking. I mean, I think grappling can be the most important thing in MMA, because if you can't stop a guy from taking you down, you're gonna lose. But you have to start every fight on your feet. And when you see a guy who doesn't have good striking fight a guy who has elite striking... Like, like a good example this past weekend was Kevin Lee versus Gregor Gillespie.

Israel Adesanya 28:30 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 28:30 Gregor Gillespie is a fucking fantastic wrestler, elite wrestler, and Kevin Lee's a better striker. And you see that every fight st- And Kevin Lee has a wrestling background too.

Israel Adesanya 28:39 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 28:39 So it's, it's no picnic taking that guy down. But you see when a guy's a better striker, has more weapons-

Israel Adesanya 28:44 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 28:44 ... and then Gregor gets high kicked.

Israel Adesanya 28:46 It's a different kind of feel. And also one thing, uh-

Joe Rogan 28:48 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 28:48 ... Eugene and Andre, my, uh, wrestling coaches alluded to is people forget the take downs, the wrestling starts way before the clinch.

Joe Rogan 28:56 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 28:57 It starts way before you get taken down or way before you engage. It's all about positioning, foot positioning.

Joe Rogan 29:02 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 29:02 It's all about distance control. So once you have that and you understand the, the, the principles of that, your wrestling becomes easy. Like, I might have, I don't know if it's the highest take down defense percentage in the UFC's middle weight division.

Joe Rogan 29:15 It's pretty goddamn good.

Israel Adesanya 29:16 It's high, it's high, but... And there's, I mean, the only time was in my second fight when the guy, uh, in the third round, I didn't break the grip and he sucked my leg in immediately after, 'cause I normally room with Andre, he just kinda told me what to do. I was like, "Okay." Ever since that, in training, no one ever gets that on me, or rarely, rarely gets that on me. So I, I, I'm always improving, man. Like I said, even right now, FOMO, I feel, like, fear of missing out, 'cause I see everyone training at the gym-

Joe Rogan 29:41 You keep saying FOMO.

Israel Adesanya 29:41 Oh, fear of missing out. That's a-

Joe Rogan 29:42 Oh, okay.

Israel Adesanya 29:43 Yeah, it's a acronym.

Joe Rogan 29:44 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 29:44 Yeah, it's what the kids are saying.

Joe Rogan 29:45 Yeah, I know the kids say it.

Israel Adesanya 29:46 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 29:46 But I, I never bothered looking up what it means.

Israel Adesanya 29:48 Yeah, nah, it's fear of missing out. So like, all my, I see, like, on the group chat what the team's doing-

Joe Rogan 29:52 (coughs)

Israel Adesanya 29:52 ... and I see them working the 10:00 AM squad.

Joe Rogan 29:54 Right.

Israel Adesanya 29:54 Shouts out to 10:00 AM squad. Where they at? Ay.

Joe Rogan 29:57 And you start feeling it?

Israel Adesanya 29:58 What up? Yeah, I'm just like-

Joe Rogan 29:58 Like, "Oh, I gotta get back there."

Israel Adesanya 29:59 Yeah, 100%.

Joe Rogan 30:00 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 30:00 And especially with like, just the young guys coming up, you know. I, I see it and I'm not stupid, man.

Joe Rogan 30:05 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 30:05 I know (laughs) the target's on my back.

Joe Rogan 30:07 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 30:07 It's easy to get this, but it's hard to keep it, so.

Joe Rogan 30:09 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 30:09 ... yeah, I wanna make sure I'm, I wanna do what Demetrious did. I wanna do what Silva did, you know. I wanna be one of those guys who just racks it up, get all the Infinity Stones.

Joe Rogan 30:17 (laughs) All the gems.

Israel Adesanya 30:19 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 30:19 Now, w- what happens if they overrun the outside of this thing-

Israel Adesanya 30:23 Get me a new belt.

Joe Rogan 30:23 ... with gems?

Israel Adesanya 30:24 Get me a new belt.

Joe Rogan 30:25 Get you a new belt. (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 30:25 Yeah, or bigger one.

Joe Rogan 30:25 They used to give you a new belt every time.

Israel Adesanya 30:27 I know. I'll stop putting these ones, all the gems on these bits.

Joe Rogan 30:30 A guy like Stipe-

Israel Adesanya 30:31 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 30:31 ... Stipe has a shitload of belts, like-

Israel Adesanya 30:32 Yeah, would've been cool, I was looking forward to that.

Joe Rogan 30:34 ... I don't think he needs a new belt every time.

Israel Adesanya 30:34 I might. I'm, I'm, I'm pro- I can buy some of them, you know, like... (laughs)

Joe Rogan 30:38 (laughs) Talk, talk to somebody.

Israel Adesanya 30:38 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 30:39 Yeah. It's, uh... What'd you think about the BMF belt?

Israel Adesanya 30:42 Mm...

Joe Rogan 30:43 Yeah, it's a tr- touchy subject, right?

Israel Adesanya 30:45 Mm... I felt like, I feel, uh, well, I like the idea, you know, the fact-

Joe Rogan 30:48 Right.

Israel Adesanya 30:48 ... that Nate Diaz... You know, he ain't no West Coast gangster, you know, and then, hey, you know, I'm from Miami, you know, whatever. They should've kept that between them. The company didn't have to get involved. He, they didn't have to get involved to, like, try and solidify this. But what it was, was they needed a, a title for the MSG card-

Joe Rogan 31:04 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 31:04 ... 'cause Colby and Usman and whatnot-

Joe Rogan 31:06 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 31:06 ... shit happened. But look at this, Miesha Tate versus Holly Holm was the co-main event as a title fight-

Joe Rogan 31:12 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 31:12 ... for Diaz, uh, McGregor won.

Joe Rogan 31:15 Right.

Israel Adesanya 31:15 So you don't... That fight itself would've been fine without the belt, without The Rock-

Joe Rogan 31:19 I agree.

Israel Adesanya 31:19 ... without all that kinda stuff. But it happened, and yeah, it's cool. What's gonna happen now? Is he gonna defend it? 'Cause even the ego in me is like, "Tsk, uh-uh." (laughs)

Joe Rogan 31:31 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 31:31 What you doing? What you doing, Masvidal?

Joe Rogan 31:33 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 31:33 But, like, I mean, there's no point 'cause is, are they gonna defend the belt? Are they gonna...

Joe Rogan 31:36 I don't know.

Israel Adesanya 31:37 Yeah, so...

Joe Rogan 31:37 But I feel like Masvidal's championship caliber.

Israel Adesanya 31:39 I might put some fucking spinners on this now-

Joe Rogan 31:41 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 31:41 ... and then do like John Cena and call this the Freestyle Belt, you know. Like, yeah.

Joe Rogan 31:46 I, I, you know, I, I see what you're saying but-

Israel Adesanya 31:48 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 31:49 ... I feel like Masvidal's world championship caliber.

Israel Adesanya 31:51 Fuck yeah, 100%.

Joe Rogan 31:52 100%.

Israel Adesanya 31:52 I've been a fan of that guy-

Joe Rogan 31:54 Yeah, me too.

Israel Adesanya 31:54 ... since way back.

Joe Rogan 31:55 Me too.

Israel Adesanya 31:55 And, you know, everyone's just finding out now all these guys-

Joe Rogan 31:57 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 31:57 ... you know, "Oh, Street Jesus." I'm like, well, I'm not a hipster, like, "I knew him before he was cool, man." You know? (laughs)

Joe Rogan 32:02 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 32:02 I don't wanna be that guy. But I'm, I like his resurrection. I like the fact that he rebranded himself-

Joe Rogan 32:06 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 32:06 ... 'cause you have to do that. It, I see it in movies, I see actors do it, entertainment. You rebrand yourself, new package, and then boom. And also, like I said-

Joe Rogan 32:14 Do you know what happened with him?

Israel Adesanya 32:15 He said he went away.

Joe Rogan 32:16 He did this reality show.

Israel Adesanya 32:18 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 32:18 In South America.

Israel Adesanya 32:18 So I haven't watched it, but he said he went away and had time to himself.

Joe Rogan 32:21 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 32:21 Smart man.

Joe Rogan 32:21 Well, yeah. Well, what happened was he was on this reality show-

Israel Adesanya 32:24 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 32:24 ... and Dan Lambert said it was terrible, a terrible experience. He's by himself all day, no phone. He had to go into the village to get food. There's no fucking food, like-

Israel Adesanya 32:32 Where was the island?

Joe Rogan 32:33 I forget.

Israel Adesanya 32:33 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 32:34 Somewhere in South America.

Israel Adesanya 32:35 Okay.

Joe Rogan 32:35 But the, the experience was, it was several months-

Israel Adesanya 32:37 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 32:37 ... and it was a disaster, and he didn't like it at all. And, and then it m- forced him to think about where he's at, where he could be. And one of the things he was saying is, like, all these split decisions and he was thinking, like, "Why, you know, why did it go that way instead of the other way?" Like, "Why did I lose that fight instead of win it? Because there was a lot of them that are really close."

Israel Adesanya 32:56 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 32:56 And he was thinking-

Israel Adesanya 32:57 I've seen them.

Joe Rogan 32:57 ... "Well, maybe I could just have done a little bit more and won that fight." And then he said, "Why am I thinking like a fucking peasant?" He goes, "Why didn't I just knock that motherfucker out?"

Israel Adesanya 33:06 I saw that.

Joe Rogan 33:06 And then, and so that shift in his mentality changed. And then all of a sudden, he mercs Don Cerrone, he mercs Darren Till, mercs Ben Askren, beats the fuck out of Nate Diaz.

Israel Adesanya 33:16 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 33:16 Like, he's a different person now.

Israel Adesanya 33:18 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 33:18 And now he's what he could have been.

Israel Adesanya 33:20 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 33:20 He is potential realized. Like, he's a-

Israel Adesanya 33:22 He's like a rebirth.

Joe Rogan 33:23 ... he's at 100%.

Israel Adesanya 33:24 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 33:24 He's at 100% right now.

Israel Adesanya 33:25 I agree. I'm liking what he's doing, man.

Joe Rogan 33:27 Like, you get in the cage with that guy.

Israel Adesanya 33:28 He's even thinking about boxing with Canelo.

Joe Rogan 33:29 Yes!

Israel Adesanya 33:30 My man crazy.

Joe Rogan 33:31 Yes!

Israel Adesanya 33:31 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 33:31 It was interesting.

Israel Adesanya 33:33 Ay, ay.

Joe Rogan 33:33 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 33:33 Fucking cojones, man, cojones to the guy.

Joe Rogan 33:35 He's got 'em all. I mean, his thought is like, "Hey, man, I, I can do more than Conor McGregor did and I'm not gonna fade."

Israel Adesanya 33:41 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 33:41 Yeah. You know?

Israel Adesanya 33:42 No, he can and I think... 'Cause I watched the fight again. It's different when you watch it live. When I was watching it live, I saw Diaz coming back. And he was in the third round, and I was swinging towards Diaz, like, "Oh, maybe he won that round." But I watched it back and I'm like, "Nah, he had all three."

Joe Rogan 33:54 Yeah, he had all three.

Israel Adesanya 33:55 And Diaz was, and like I said, he was coming back, but if I... On the scorecards, yeah, I think he, he already had it.

Joe Rogan 34:01 Well, in a couple of those rounds, you could make an argument for 10-8's.

Israel Adesanya 34:03 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 34:03 I mean, he beat the fuck out of Diaz in that first round.

Israel Adesanya 34:05 One point, I think he hit him in the gut and Diaz, tactical move, vet move, just dropped down.

Joe Rogan 34:09 Mm-hmm, yep.

Israel Adesanya 34:10 Just dropped down. So he's like, "All right, coming with my guard."

Joe Rogan 34:11 Yep.

Israel Adesanya 34:11 'Cause he, he probably got hurt to the body.

Joe Rogan 34:13 Yeah, yeah.

Israel Adesanya 34:13 I heard one of them was nasty, man.

Joe Rogan 34:15 100%, 100%. That right-

Israel Adesanya 34:16 Ooh.

Joe Rogan 34:16 ... right body kick.

Israel Adesanya 34:17 Pow!

Joe Rogan 34:17 Wow.

Israel Adesanya 34:17 It slipped 'cause Diaz tried to block it on-

Joe Rogan 34:19 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 34:19 ... and he just went right underneath it.

Joe Rogan 34:20 Yep.

Israel Adesanya 34:21 And the thing I, I hate as well in sparring is when you kick the elbow. You ever tried that?

Joe Rogan 34:24 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 34:24 It sucks.

Joe Rogan 34:25 Yeah, I broke my foot doing that.

Israel Adesanya 34:26 Oh, really?

Joe Rogan 34:26 Everybody has.

Israel Adesanya 34:27 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 34:27 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 34:27 I fucked my foot and I cracked it doing that as well, but-

Joe Rogan 34:29 Yeah, the tip of the elbow's so hard-

Israel Adesanya 34:31 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 34:31 ... and the bo- top of your foot is so soft.

Israel Adesanya 34:33 Takes a real skill. Like, Darren Till-

Joe Rogan 34:34 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 34:34 ... has it as well where they can sneak it underneath.

Joe Rogan 34:36 Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 34:36 It's a w- it's, it's a, it's a different angle. Eugene taught me how to do it, so yeah, I love it. I love, uh... It's one of my moves. I hit, um, Tavares with it as well before I swept him.

Joe Rogan 34:45 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 34:45 Yeah, you, you have to learn how to sweep, like, just right underneath. You don't go this way-

Joe Rogan 34:48 You got your eye on Till? Now is Till now is at 185 pounds?

Israel Adesanya 34:50 Yeah, oh, we, we've, uh, you know, like, my man.

Joe Rogan 34:52 Interesting guy.

Israel Adesanya 34:53 I, I, I saw him last year buf- on the press conference leading up to the Brunson fight, and I even said, "Look, I can't wait till we do it, man. I know one day we'll clash." And it's just 'cause of the styles.

Joe Rogan 35:01 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 35:01 Like, styles make fights.

Joe Rogan 35:03 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 35:03 You know? And he's got a style that I like, very basic. But when I say basic, I don't mean that with due respect, with disrespect.

Joe Rogan 35:10 Negative, right.

Israel Adesanya 35:10 I say he's got a strong basics. He's a stout, he's a southpaw, and he has a nice straight left, nice body kick.

Joe Rogan 35:16 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 35:16 Curves the left. He knows how to change it up. And in the clinch as well, when he gets close, I like what he did with, um, Gastelum.

Joe Rogan 35:21 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 35:22 He played the distance game well, you know. I learnt it in the third round. I kinda learnt it in the fight. But Gastelum was doing something to get close.

Joe Rogan 35:28 What did you do? What, what happened in the third round?

Israel Adesanya 35:30 Nah, in the, in the third round I kn- I knew where his... Like, right after the fight, me and Eugene watched the fight. We're like, "Fuck, that's what he did. That's how we got so close." And we knew already, but it was hard to call it in the fight 'cause we were too focused on other things. But I think automatically through muscle memory, I was able to take that distance away from him in the fight.

Joe Rogan 35:47 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 35:47 In the, from the third round. But for the first, I think for the first round and some of the second round, he was able to, like, use... It's a little hop step, everyone knows it now.

Joe Rogan 35:53 Mm-hmm. Right.

Israel Adesanya 35:54 It's a little hop step. He'd jab me, jab me, put it in my face. It's like a little-... to do.

Joe Rogan 35:59 So, you're calculating his movement?

Israel Adesanya 36:01 Yeah. I'm not doing it this way, I'm doing it, like, you know-

Joe Rogan 36:04 Internally.

Israel Adesanya 36:05 ... it's muscle memory.

Joe Rogan 36:06 Yeah. Right.

Israel Adesanya 36:06 Memory. It's-

Joe Rogan 36:07 It's your memory of fights and sparring-

Israel Adesanya 36:09 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:09 ... and knowing what you can do, versus knowing what you see him doing?

Israel Adesanya 36:12 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:13 Okay.

Israel Adesanya 36:13 And just, like, it's like a dance.

Joe Rogan 36:14 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 36:14 So he comes this way-

Joe Rogan 36:15 That's super hard to explain to people.

Israel Adesanya 36:17 They don't understand.

Joe Rogan 36:17 Why you look at a guy and you're like, "Listen to me, that guy's gonna fuck that guy up." And people go, "What are you talking about?"

Israel Adesanya 36:22 They don't understand.

Joe Rogan 36:22 I'm like, "Listen to me, that guy's gonna..." Like, when Anderson Silva first fought Chris Slemann-

Israel Adesanya 36:25 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:26 ... I, I remember the odds were, like, real close.

Israel Adesanya 36:28 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 36:28 And, uh, I pulled a friend of mine aside, I said, "Bet the house."

Israel Adesanya 36:32 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 36:32 "Bet the house on Anderson."

Israel Adesanya 36:34 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:34 He goes, "Are you serious?" I go, "Bet the house." I go, "Bet the house."

Israel Adesanya 36:37 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:38 I go, "This guy's an, um, an assassin. This is a different thing. You're seeing a different thing. I'm telling you, this is a, this is one of the rare... The fucking sky has to fall for him to lose."

Israel Adesanya 36:49 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:49 You know?

Israel Adesanya 36:49 No one knew. That's the thing, no one knew who he was until-

Joe Rogan 36:51 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 36:51 ... that happened.

Joe Rogan 36:52 But I watched all those Cage Warriors fight.

Israel Adesanya 36:54 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:54 When he was standing in front of Jorge Rivera-

Israel Adesanya 36:56 Woo!

Joe Rogan 36:56 ... and letting him punch him in the face.

Israel Adesanya 36:57 He just rolling with it, man.

Joe Rogan 36:58 Just rolling with it.

Israel Adesanya 36:58 Just rolling. He did it to me as well.

Joe Rogan 37:00 Standing in front of him.

Israel Adesanya 37:00 People don't understand this.

Joe Rogan 37:01 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 37:01 Like, they said, ah, fucking casuals. They said-

Joe Rogan 37:04 Casuals. (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 37:05 (laughs) I like using... And a lot of experts as well have casual brains 'cause they're like, you know-

Joe Rogan 37:09 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 37:09 ... Israel has no knockout power 'cause he hit Henderson Silva in the face clean. I'm like, you don't understand this. Anderson is playing a game where, me and him are playing this game. So, when I hit him, I didn't hit him clean. I'm not trying to hit him where he is, I'm trying to hit him where he's gonna be.

Joe Rogan 37:26 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 37:26 But then, he knows that as well. So, he'd anticipate that and then pause. The distance is just right, so it just nicks him.

Joe Rogan 37:34 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 37:34 There was a time I kicked him in the face, and I slowed it down on my Instagram, just went, and just, like, my toe. Literally, you see my toes, they're ugly as fuck.

Joe Rogan 37:41 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 37:41 Like, it just nicked the top lip. And I went, "He was close." 'Cause I felt it.

Joe Rogan 37:46 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 37:46 I felt my toe nick it.

Joe Rogan 37:47 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 37:47 And he goes... And we're playing this game, but like literally, I was trying to hit him where he's gonna be. But then he'd pause and then the punch would just doosh, doosh. So, it looked cool-

Joe Rogan 37:56 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 37:56 ... it looked like, but I was like, I didn't hit him clean.

Joe Rogan 37:58 Right.

Israel Adesanya 37:58 I, like, he just, we're playing this game. And people don't understand. People who've never fought, they don't understand that game you're playing. Uh, yeah, it was beautiful, man. I love that fight. And people said, "Oh-"

Joe Rogan 38:06 I loved that fight too.

Israel Adesanya 38:07 "... it was boring." I was like, "Fuck, that was iconic, man."

Joe Rogan 38:09 No, it was sick.

Israel Adesanya 38:09 That was a... I wish he had left after that fight, man, 'cause I wanted to be the one, and I felt like-

Joe Rogan 38:13 But people are silly.

Israel Adesanya 38:13 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:13 People are silly. That was just, that was a great fight.

Israel Adesanya 38:15 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:16 But that's just, it's people that don't have an appreciation for movement and, like, what it takes. What it, what it takes to-

Israel Adesanya 38:20 I know. Most people don't know shit about MMA.

Joe Rogan 38:21 No, most people don't know shit about everything.

Israel Adesanya 38:23 Exactly.

Joe Rogan 38:24 Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of people out there that are experts-

Israel Adesanya 38:26 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:26 ... air quotes, that don't know shit about what they're talking about.

Israel Adesanya 38:29 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:29 The thing about Anderson and you is, goddamn, I would've loved to see that fight when Anderson was 10 years younger-

Israel Adesanya 38:35 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 38:35 ... and you were, you were at where you're at right now.

Israel Adesanya 38:37 I'll tell you how it goes.

Joe Rogan 38:38 How's it go?

Israel Adesanya 38:40 Same way it went. You know why?

Joe Rogan 38:41 Why?

Israel Adesanya 38:42 He's never had someone do to him what he's done to people.

Joe Rogan 38:45 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 38:45 'Cause what I was doing to him, making him jump, making him do... Whenever he did this-

Joe Rogan 38:51 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 38:51 ... that's all fugazi.

Joe Rogan 38:52 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 38:52 That's all like, oh, you made me faint.

Joe Rogan 38:54 Do you know what fugazi is?

Israel Adesanya 38:55 I, I, I've used it a few times.

Joe Rogan 38:56 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 38:57 It wasn't me.

Joe Rogan 38:57 Do you know what it means?

Israel Adesanya 38:57 No.

Joe Rogan 38:58 It's an interesting term.

Israel Adesanya 38:59 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 38:59 It was, uh, there was a limousine company in New York-

Israel Adesanya 39:01 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 39:01 ... and they started writing bad checks. And, uh, so the, those checks became fugazi checks. It's fake. So, when some-

Israel Adesanya 39:08 Is that Italian?

Joe Rogan 39:09 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Israel Adesanya 39:09 Oh.

Joe Rogan 39:10 It's, it was, it was a limousine company called Fugazi Limousines.

Israel Adesanya 39:13 Ah.

Joe Rogan 39:14 And so-

Israel Adesanya 39:15 So it's not a real word?

Joe Rogan 39:16 No. Well, it is.

Israel Adesanya 39:16 Is it, is it an Italian word?

Joe Rogan 39:17 It became an expression.

Israel Adesanya 39:18 Ah, see. Fugazi.

Joe Rogan 39:18 It just became an expression. Fugazi.

Israel Adesanya 39:20 Like fake.

Joe Rogan 39:20 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 39:20 Yeah. So-

Joe Rogan 39:20 So, this company started writing bad checks. So any time that something's fake, it's fugazi.

Israel Adesanya 39:25 Ah.

Joe Rogan 39:26 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 39:26 I learn something new every day.

Joe Rogan 39:27 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 39:27 Like FOMO. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 39:30 Yeah. (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 39:30 No, but like, yeah, so whenever I'd, like, faint him-

Joe Rogan 39:32 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 39:33 ... or make him jump-

Joe Rogan 39:33 Right.

Israel Adesanya 39:33 ... or make him react, you know, like, ah, got you. He'd be like...

Joe Rogan 39:38 Right.

Israel Adesanya 39:38 Trapping hands, kung fu, 52 blocks.

Joe Rogan 39:40 Right.

Israel Adesanya 39:40 But it was, there was no-

Joe Rogan 39:41 Well, he didn't-

Israel Adesanya 39:42 ... sauce to it.

Joe Rogan 39:42 ... he went through his career fighting really good fighters-

Israel Adesanya 39:45 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 39:45 ... great fighters, but never an elite kickboxer.

Israel Adesanya 39:47 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 39:48 Never an elite, world-class kickboxer. Like, a world championship caliber fighter like yourself.

Israel Adesanya 39:52 Mm... Not, well, not a kickboxer, but definitely some, like you said, good fighters. But the guys, all the guys that he beat of that era, they couldn't last in this era. It's a different time now.

Joe Rogan 40:02 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 40:02 The game has changed, the game keeps evolving. And the, it, like... How do I say it? It's no disrespect, but it's just, it's, it's... If you had me in my prime, right now, well, I'm not even in my prime, kind of in it, I'm not there-

Joe Rogan 40:14 How old are you now? 27?

Israel Adesanya 40:16 30.

Joe Rogan 40:17 You're 30?

Israel Adesanya 40:17 I know, I try. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 40:18 (laughs) You look good.

Israel Adesanya 40:18 Thank you, sir.

Joe Rogan 40:19 Good for you.

Israel Adesanya 40:19 Likewise, likewise, likewise. But, um, yeah, it's just pretty much the game of inches, a game of fake.

Joe Rogan 40:25 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 40:26 A game of ha, got you.

Joe Rogan 40:27 Right.

Israel Adesanya 40:27 And I do that better than him.

Joe Rogan 40:29 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 40:29 I feel that. And dude, this is the guy I've loved and I've, you know, fucking gagged and jizzed about him my whole fucking career.

Joe Rogan 40:36 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 40:36 Like, he's a fucking... I use wrong words. Pause.

Joe Rogan 40:39 Yeah. (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 40:39 Play, fast-forward. (laughs) But, um, like-

Joe Rogan 40:43 I know what you're saying.

Israel Adesanya 40:43 Literally, like, I've, I've fanboyed over the guy his whole career, and I've studied him. I knew what he was gonna do before he do it.

Joe Rogan 40:48 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 40:48 Like, when he tripped me, I was getting up, and in my head I was like, "Okay, here comes that flying knee." And then whoop, I did, like literally, I pressed eject. I was like, "Get the fuck out of Dodge-

Joe Rogan 40:58 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 40:58 ... straight away." Like, honestly, I was like, "I'm not..." And then he, he just hugged the cage like... At one point, even I hit him in the tummy... Or no, did he... I hit him in the tummy and he, he touched me in the tummy, and I was like... He goes, "Let me try." I was like, "No." (laughs)

Joe Rogan 41:12 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 41:12 He really catch that. Or even when I, at one point as well, when he put his hands down and like, like we were playing that game and just went... I went, "Stop doing that." I threw my hands up, I went, "Stop doing that." There's no one on this fucking planet if you put your hands down and chin up that I'll tell you, "Stop doing that." But no, hands down, chin up, keep doing that.

Joe Rogan 41:29 Right.

Israel Adesanya 41:29 But for whatever reason, I said stop doing that. And I-

Joe Rogan 41:33 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 41:33 I don't know why I said that. That's why, that's a question I have to answer, like, after I retire and see. 'Cause people are like, "Oh, did you hold back on Anderson?" I'm like, "Fuck no." I was, I rocked him in the first round. And if I had deadened him, I was trying to. I was trying to win. But-

Joe Rogan 41:46 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 41:47 ... I, I still have love for the guy and I respect the guy. He might not feel the same, but he's some, he's a guy that-

Joe Rogan 41:52 I think he does.

Israel Adesanya 41:53 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 41:53 I think he does.

Israel Adesanya 41:53 And he, he told me, like, in the, like, he, he'd let me know what to do. He told me, like, he said, "Don't lose focus." And that's why even right now, like I said, FOMO, I'm like... You know, all this shit is cool, this victory tour, you know-

Joe Rogan 42:03 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 42:03 ... parading this shit around. It's nice, but-I wanna work.

Joe Rogan 42:07 Yeah. Yeah. That's the-

Israel Adesanya 42:09 I need to work, man.

Joe Rogan 42:09 ... attitude that makes champions.

Israel Adesanya 42:10 100%, man.

Joe Rogan 42:11 Was it weird being across the cage from him? Knowin' him, like-

Israel Adesanya 42:14 Only one more, uh, uh, one moment. There was one moment, and it was in the third round. And he went to the... He's like, "Come on." Puts his back against the fence. It's what he did to Bisping.

Joe Rogan 42:22 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 42:22 And he front kicked him in the face. He's like, "Come on, come on. It's okay." And then, like, kinda sat there. And at one point, I was just stood there. I was like, "I'm gonna wait too." And it was maybe, like, seven seconds, but there was a split second in there that I was just like, "Holy shit. I'm fighting Anderson Silva."

Joe Rogan 42:39 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 42:40 Nah. I was like, "Fuck off. Nah. This is my time." And I backed up. I was like, "Nah, he's r- right here." Then he came to the center of the cage, and then we kept it going. But-

Joe Rogan 42:46 Like, right there.

Israel Adesanya 42:46 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 42:47 Ha.

Israel Adesanya 42:47 This right here is gonna live forever.

Joe Rogan 42:49 God damn-

Israel Adesanya 42:50 Forever.

Joe Rogan 42:50 ... that picture.

Israel Adesanya 42:51 This is-

Joe Rogan 42:51 Look at that picture.

Israel Adesanya 42:52 ... forever. After I'm done fighting, with what I'm gonna do in this game.

Joe Rogan 42:54 Oh my God.

Israel Adesanya 42:55 It's for moments like this. Fuck the belt. It's iconic moments that-

Joe Rogan 42:58 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 42:58 You know, like, Ali over, um, Sonny Liston.

Joe Rogan 43:00 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 43:00 Was it Liston? That.

Joe Rogan 43:01 Yeah, yeah.

Israel Adesanya 43:01 Pictures like that.

Joe Rogan 43:02 I got that at home.

Israel Adesanya 43:03 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 43:03 Framed, signed by Muhammad Ali.

Israel Adesanya 43:05 Wow.

Joe Rogan 43:05 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 43:05 See, shit like that.

Joe Rogan 43:06 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 43:06 I'll sign this for someone sometime. And then-

Joe Rogan 43:08 Fuck yeah.

Israel Adesanya 43:08 ... literally it's gonna be framed. Honestly.

Joe Rogan 43:10 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 43:10 It's so beautiful, man. And I... This is Rock Lee. Even something like... There's some, there's some synchronicities that happen. So this is from this anime. The first fight I watched in this... Can you Google this? Pull it up, Jamie. (laughs) Um, what is it? Uh, Rock Lee versus Gaara, G-A-A-R-A. This is episode 46 of Naruto, and it was the first fight I ever watched that got me into the series. And this-

Joe Rogan 43:29 What is this anime series, Naruto? I've only seen it online.

Israel Adesanya 43:33 It's pretty much... It takes too long. It's a 720 episode fucking s- yeah.

Joe Rogan 43:37 720 episodes?

Israel Adesanya 43:38 20. Yeah. So he's-

Joe Rogan 43:39 Here it is right here.

Israel Adesanya 43:39 So this bit right here, he takes the, the weight off. He takes the weight off. Or you can watch the highlights. And then literally, there's some heavy ass weights, but he fucks up Gaara. But I did the stance Rock Lee normally does. I did the stance that he normally does in the weigh-ins, and Anderson stood there like Gaara. But he probably doesn't even know what that is, but he just stood there like this. And shit like that, it's a taijutsu fight. It's just like when life imitates art without even trying.

Joe Rogan 44:04 Oh.

Israel Adesanya 44:04 You know what I mean?

Joe Rogan 44:05 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 44:05 And I, I edited it. I got some guys, you know, shout out to CutCraft and BlackBrynFX. They edited it for me to make it look the same as this, but literally-

Joe Rogan 44:13 Oh.

Israel Adesanya 44:13 Yeah, shit like this jazzes me up, man. I'm geeking out right now.

Joe Rogan 44:16 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 44:16 Fucking nerd.

Joe Rogan 44:17 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 44:18 Shout out to Jon Jones.

Joe Rogan 44:19 Are y- Sorry. (laughs) Did he call you a nerd?

Israel Adesanya 44:22 Yeah, I know. Oh, m- my feelings. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 44:26 (laughs) Nerd is not negative, man.

Israel Adesanya 44:27 Of course. I'ma, I'll take it.

Joe Rogan 44:28 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 44:29 I'm a fucking nerd. I got nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills.

Joe Rogan 44:32 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 44:32 All that.

Joe Rogan 44:32 There's nothing wrong with being a nerd, man.

Israel Adesanya 44:34 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 44:35 I mean, nerds run the world.

Israel Adesanya 44:36 Fuck yeah.

Joe Rogan 44:36 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 44:36 Look at Elon.

Joe Rogan 44:37 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 44:38 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 44:38 Nerds run the fucking world, for real.

Israel Adesanya 44:39 I keep telling kids, man, like, "Don't peak in high school, man. Especially the nerds."

Joe Rogan 44:43 Right.

Israel Adesanya 44:43 I've, I've told them. I, I've, I've spoken at some, some schools now, and I just tell them, like, "Look." And New Zealand's got the highest youth suicide rate in the world. And it's 'cause a lot of these kids, like literally, yeah, they think-

Joe Rogan 44:53 Really?

Israel Adesanya 44:54 They think this is gonna be forever. Like, whatever they're feeling, the depression, being bullied, being fucked with. And it's different now 'cause of all this shit.

Joe Rogan 44:59 Yeah. Internet.

Israel Adesanya 45:00 Like, it's ca-... You know, depression, whatnot.

Joe Rogan 45:02 Yeah, social media.

Israel Adesanya 45:03 People attacking you.

Joe Rogan 45:04 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 45:04 And I just tell them, like, "Look, it's, it's gonna be fine. This isn't forever." At the end of the day, they will peak now. Like, when I go back to where I grew up in Rotorua, when I see some of the kids that used to fuck with me, I'm like, I'm like, "I was, I was scared of you?"

Joe Rogan 45:19 Right.

Israel Adesanya 45:19 Like, literally. Even when I close my eyes now, 'cause I always... I, I had a late growth spurt. I can see them, I visualize them, and they st- I still see them as bigger than me. But when I go back, they're, like, short and dumpy and got, like, five different kids to three different baby mamas-

Joe Rogan 45:32 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 45:32 ... and working at the same job for the last 12 years. And I'm just like, "Man, you were in the first 15 rugby team. You were the man. I thought you was the man. But now I'm the man." But I never-

Joe Rogan 45:44 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 45:44 ... feel any kind of way over it. I don't feel... Only two of them have ever apologized, but I don't feel like... 'Cause I'm petty, you know? I got chips and dips on my shoulder. I'm that guy. But I don't feel a type of way where I have to, like, shit on them 'cause I understand kids are cruel, kids are dumb.

Joe Rogan 45:56 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 45:56 And I see it this day and age. I see it, and like-

Joe Rogan 45:59 They don't even know what they're doing while they're doing it.

Israel Adesanya 46:00 Nah. They just-

Joe Rogan 46:01 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 46:01 ... fucking angry little chimps with hormones.

Joe Rogan 46:03 Exactly.

Israel Adesanya 46:03 And they don't know what's happening. I, I know-

Joe Rogan 46:04 And with bad instruction.

Israel Adesanya 46:05 I would've told myself, "Don't think with your penis."

Joe Rogan 46:08 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 46:08 That's the best advice I give young men.

Joe Rogan 46:09 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 46:09 'Cause no one tells them that.

Joe Rogan 46:10 No one.

Israel Adesanya 46:11 Yeah. So it's like-

Joe Rogan 46:11 Jerk off first, then think about it.

Israel Adesanya 46:12 100%.

Joe Rogan 46:13 That's what I tell 'em.

Israel Adesanya 46:14 And then, no. What's this No Nut November bullshit, man?

Joe Rogan 46:15 Oh, that's nonsense.

Israel Adesanya 46:16 What?

Joe Rogan 46:16 That's a good way to make this-

Israel Adesanya 46:17 I lost on the first day.

Joe Rogan 46:18 ... giant mistakes. (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 46:20 (laughs) Three times. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 46:22 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 46:22 Fuck all that, man. I'm busting, man.

Joe Rogan 46:23 No, n- Exactly.

Israel Adesanya 46:24 Nah, man.

Joe Rogan 46:24 All that tantric shit.

Israel Adesanya 46:26 Gotta let it go. Let it go.

Joe Rogan 46:26 They try to keep it inside their body.

Israel Adesanya 46:28 Nah, nah, nah.

Joe Rogan 46:28 That's nonsense.

Israel Adesanya 46:29 'Cause then it's aged jizz.

Joe Rogan 46:30 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 46:31 Like, if you have... If you haven't jizzed after a while, when you jizz, look at it.

Joe Rogan 46:34 Uh, yeah, it's like whiskey.

Israel Adesanya 46:35 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 46:36 Dried age.

Israel Adesanya 46:37 (laughs) Black Iron.

Joe Rogan 46:38 (laughs) Black Iron.

Israel Adesanya 46:40 (laughs) Not gonna drink this.

Joe Rogan 46:43 I know. I feel bad about drinking it now.

Israel Adesanya 46:45 It's all right.

Joe Rogan 46:45 Dude, what is... Yeah, what is that No Nut November? Get outta here. That's a good way-

Israel Adesanya 46:48 Who did that?

Joe Rogan 46:48 ... to stay confused.

Israel Adesanya 46:49 Yeah. You're gonna make a lot of bad choices that month.

Joe Rogan 46:51 Yes. Yeah, how many times have guys made bad choices? I was trying to explain this to a woman, and she was saying that men are assholes and they pretend to be someone so, just so they can fuck a girl. And then after they fuck a girl, then you see who they really are.

Israel Adesanya 47:03 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 47:03 I go, "Listen, they don't even know who the fuck they are."

Israel Adesanya 47:05 See, I agree.

Joe Rogan 47:06 I go, "When a guy's telling you that they're in love with you, they're, they're, they mean that in that moment."

Israel Adesanya 47:09 Hmm.

Joe Rogan 47:09 And then they come, and then they're like, "Ugh."

Israel Adesanya 47:12 Mm-mm.

Joe Rogan 47:12 "What? What did I do? I gotta get outta here."

Israel Adesanya 47:14 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 47:15 Like, they're not... It's not that they're being deceptive to you. They're being deceived as well.

Israel Adesanya 47:20 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 47:20 I had a whole bit about it that when you have a boner-

Israel Adesanya 47:23 I've heard it.

Joe Rogan 47:23 ... that your be-... You, you are, like, in the backseat of a very long bus.

Israel Adesanya 47:26 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 47:27 And there's another dude driving the bus. You're like, "Where the fuck is he going?"

Israel Adesanya 47:30 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 47:30 Like, what is...

Israel Adesanya 47:31 Reckless.

Joe Rogan 47:32 You're like... Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 47:32 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 47:32 You're watching your life take place through a windshield-

Israel Adesanya 47:35 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 47:35 ... 50 feet away from you. That's what it's like for men.

Israel Adesanya 47:38 Nah, don't do it, man.

Joe Rogan 47:38 Yeah, if you-

Israel Adesanya 47:39 I agree.

Joe Rogan 47:39 ... come... You jerk off first and you go out with a girl, if you really enjoy her company-

Israel Adesanya 47:43 No Nut November.

Joe Rogan 47:43 That's it.

Israel Adesanya 47:43 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 47:43 Nut Nut November.

Israel Adesanya 47:45 NNN. Yeah. Wait, who won this thing, by the way? The Sober October? I didn't-

Joe Rogan 47:47 We didn't have a championship this year. We-

Israel Adesanya 47:49 We didn't?

Joe Rogan 47:49 All we did-

Israel Adesanya 47:50 Just for friends?

Joe Rogan 47:51 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 47:51 Good, good, good.

Joe Rogan 47:51 We, we just had a thing where you had to do 10 classes and read 500 pages of any books.

Israel Adesanya 47:56 Okay.

Joe Rogan 47:57 We just decided, because-

Israel Adesanya 47:58 That's cool. See, that's something you can get behind.

Joe Rogan 47:59 Yeah. Last year was too crazy.

Israel Adesanya 48:01 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 48:01 We were doing cardio seven hours a day.

Israel Adesanya 48:03 Oh, it was fun. (laughs) I watched that between Tommy and, um, uh-

Joe Rogan 48:05 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 48:05 ... Machine.

Joe Rogan 48:05 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 48:06 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 48:06 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 48:06 'Cause he was doing some crazy shit to try and lose the weight.

Joe Rogan 48:08 Yeah, they were all trying to lose weight. And Bert, I told him if he gets down to 205, he can have the Sober October belt that says-

Israel Adesanya 48:13 Hey.

Joe Rogan 48:15 ... over there.

Israel Adesanya 48:15 But, uh-

Joe Rogan 48:15 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 48:15 What's he right now?

Joe Rogan 48:16 He's, he's about-

Israel Adesanya 48:17 300.

Joe Rogan 48:18 ... 350.

Israel Adesanya 48:18 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 48:18 He ain't, he ain't losing that weight. I said, "All you have to do is lose the weight. You get the belt."

Israel Adesanya 48:21 Oh, now it's like, yeah.

Joe Rogan 48:21 I mean, I, I told him.

Israel Adesanya 48:23 He's having fun.

Joe Rogan 48:23 I go... Uh, but go... He goes like, "Well, I go about 235." I go, "Dude, there's guys who fight in the 205-pound division that weigh 235 on Tuesday."

Israel Adesanya 48:29 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 48:30 "And they fight on Saturday, and they weigh, they, they way in on Friday at 205."

Israel Adesanya 48:33 Oh.

Joe Rogan 48:34 He go, "You can do it. You can do it." But...... you know, discipline.

Israel Adesanya 48:37 Burt gonna Burt.

Joe Rogan 48:38 Burt's gonna Burt.

Israel Adesanya 48:39 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 48:39 Yeah. It's a discipline issue. (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 48:42 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 48:43 So-

Israel Adesanya 48:43 I think he's coming to New Zealand as well. He's already been-

Joe Rogan 48:46 Is he? I can't remember. The Burt... Birdie Bo- Bo- Birdie Boy tour? His new tour?

Israel Adesanya 48:48 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 48:48 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 48:48 The Machine tour or something.

Joe Rogan 48:49 I need to get... I need to get a gig out there.

Israel Adesanya 48:51 Yeah. Oh, definitely.

Joe Rogan 48:51 I need to do-

Israel Adesanya 48:52 Hey, my man, Tony Angelo, said if you wanna come through, he can suss it out.

Joe Rogan 48:56 Okay.

Israel Adesanya 48:56 Yeah. No, he's... He's looking forward to it, but he said, like, "Get in contact with them." I was like, "I don't know. Well, I'm plugging-

Joe Rogan 49:00 What I should do is-

Israel Adesanya 49:01 ... I'm plugging it... I'm plugging it up now."

Joe Rogan 49:02 ... do a gig and then take a few days and go hunting.

Israel Adesanya 49:05 Bro, you would love it, man.

Joe Rogan 49:06 Yeah. Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 49:06 Even if you take your kids and just... Like, there's a lodge out there.

Joe Rogan 49:09 Oh, yeah?

Israel Adesanya 49:09 It's really expensive, but I'm sure for you, they'll... They'll cut you out.

Joe Rogan 49:12 Okay.

Israel Adesanya 49:12 They'll get... Yeah, easy as. It's a nice spot. And they'll take you to one of these ranches where, you know, you can get... You... You could either like... My advice, go with Eugene. I won't even come. Like, go with Eugene. He knows, like, some shit.

Joe Rogan 49:23 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 49:23 And he knows the skills as well. Or you can go to these ranches where they have it for you, where you can get one of those, like a big red.

Joe Rogan 49:29 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 49:29 Like, my first time I shot one dead was a big red. And I remember, like, we're downwind, we tracked it, took ages. And you're surprised how the guy who owns the land, old man, but he was fucking kicking our ass, man. Like me and Eugene are fit-

Joe Rogan 49:42 Oh, yeah.

Israel Adesanya 49:42 ... but he's just like a mountain goat, just trekking, trekking through like-

Joe Rogan 49:45 They get used to hiking.

Israel Adesanya 49:46 It's nothing to them.

Joe Rogan 49:46 They do it every day. Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 49:47 And then they get there and then we like... It takes about maybe 10 minutes 'cause they're all there in the herd-

Joe Rogan 49:52 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 49:52 ... feasting. And then we, like, flanked it properly. We're not... Was it downwind? We're upwind away from it. That's the one.

Joe Rogan 49:59 Well-

Israel Adesanya 49:59 We don't want them to smell it.

Joe Rogan 50:00 ... you... you wanna be downwind, so-

Israel Adesanya 50:01 Downwind.

Joe Rogan 50:01 ... the wind is coming to you.

Israel Adesanya 50:02 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 50:03 And the wind-

Israel Adesanya 50:03 So they can't smell us.

Joe Rogan 50:03 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 50:04 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 50:04 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 50:05 And then I remember like, hit it, boom, right there.

Joe Rogan 50:08 You hit it with a rifle?

Israel Adesanya 50:09 Yeah, rifle.

Joe Rogan 50:09 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 50:10 Yeah, I don't know how to use a bow yet.

Joe Rogan 50:11 Yet?

Israel Adesanya 50:11 But then... Yeah, yet.

Joe Rogan 50:13 You wanna learn?

Israel Adesanya 50:13 Cameron said... Uh, yeah, Cameron said he wanted to hit me with-

Joe Rogan 50:15 Cameron's gonna hook you up?

Israel Adesanya 50:15 Yeah. He said-

Joe Rogan 50:16 Dude.

Israel Adesanya 50:16 ... but I... Wait, in time. In time.

Joe Rogan 50:17 Anytime.

Israel Adesanya 50:18 He says, you know, "I wanna... I wanna fight first. I wanna get this done."

Joe Rogan 50:20 I'll arrange that.

Israel Adesanya 50:20 My man. But then she dropped right there, there and dead. And then I went up there and me and my boy, Rod, as well, my tattooist, he shows me how to like section it up.

Joe Rogan 50:29 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 50:29 And then there's a slinky in there, like that's... We call that, um, the baby. So you take that out.

Joe Rogan 50:34 Slinky?

Israel Adesanya 50:34 Yeah, it's like the baby there, the infant that's in there.

Joe Rogan 50:36 Oh, you've shot a female?

Israel Adesanya 50:37 Yeah, female, yeah.

Joe Rogan 50:38 Oh.

Israel Adesanya 50:38 So she dropped there, like-

Joe Rogan 50:39 They call it a slinky?

Israel Adesanya 50:39 ... li- literally... Yeah, right then.

Joe Rogan 50:41 Jesus.

Israel Adesanya 50:41 I think they call it a slinky 'cause of the way it moves. I'm assuming so.

Joe Rogan 50:43 Oh, Jesus.

Israel Adesanya 50:44 Yeah. So... (laughs)

Joe Rogan 50:45 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 50:45 So you dispose of that 'cause the pig is gonna eat it.

Joe Rogan 50:47 Right.

Israel Adesanya 50:47 It's gonna go back to the earth, all that kind of stuff.

Joe Rogan 50:49 Right. Right.

Israel Adesanya 50:49 And that was the first day, and that was my big red. And then the next day, we're going, we're on the fucking... What do you call it? The ATV.

Joe Rogan 50:55 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 50:55 And then out of nowhere, we see two fallows, the smaller ones, and they're up on the ridge. And then my coach, Doug, Doug Vine, he's a K-1 champion as well from Vegas, whatnot. And then I shot it, and I didn't hit this one. It's clean. So then, like, we have to trek all the way up-

Joe Rogan 51:11 Hmm.

Israel Adesanya 51:11 ... through the tor- like, you know, all this kind of shit, f- uh, what do you call them? Uh, t- stinging needle.

Joe Rogan 51:16 Yeah. Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 51:16 Fucking annoying. And then get up to it and you see it trying to like... Uh, oh, the vegans are gonna hate me for this. (laughs) But then I was like, "Oh, shit. Okay." And then-

Joe Rogan 51:26 You gotta finish it off.

Israel Adesanya 51:26 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 51:27 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 51:27 I have to f- you know, do the right thing. So I get the rifle, right? And I'm there and I'm looking at it and then I'm looking through the scope. And then Doug's like... This is up after about 30 seconds. "You all right?" And I was like, "Yeah, hold up. Just have to..." And he's like, "You're not scared, are you?" I'm like, "Nah." But then I realized, the shit's fucking two feet in front of me. I'm using the scope.

Joe Rogan 51:46 Oh, you couldn't see it?

Israel Adesanya 51:48 Like, what the fuck?

Joe Rogan 51:48 Oh, yeah.

Israel Adesanya 51:49 Doof.

Joe Rogan 51:49 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 51:50 And that was it. She was done.

Joe Rogan 51:51 You couldn't find it in the scope.

Israel Adesanya 51:52 And then, yeah, so-

Joe Rogan 51:52 Scopes are weird.

Israel Adesanya 51:53 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 51:53 If you get too close, you're all fucked up.

Israel Adesanya 51:54 But it was just-

Joe Rogan 51:55 You just gotta do everything.

Israel Adesanya 51:55 ... like a brain fart moment 'cause I was... I was just used to using the scope.

Joe Rogan 51:58 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 51:58 So I'm like, "Why the fuck are you using the scope when the thing's-"

Joe Rogan 52:00 It's right there.

Israel Adesanya 52:00 "... right there in front of you?"

Joe Rogan 52:00 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 52:00 So I just hit it, boom, point blank, dead.

Joe Rogan 52:03 I had to do the same thing in the first-

Israel Adesanya 52:04 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 52:05 ... deer I shot.

Israel Adesanya 52:05 Stop suffering.

Joe Rogan 52:06 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 52:06 But then one thing I really enjoyed was afterwards, when you have to section it right there and-

Joe Rogan 52:10 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 52:10 ... this is the thing, man. If you can't... My personal philosophy is if you can't hunt, if you can't kill what you eat, don't eat meat. Don't touch it 'cause you don't understand where it comes from. And eventually, one day, kind of like you... what you have now, you have your own operation, I wanna have my own operation. I wanna have my own, like, land, my own property-

Joe Rogan 52:28 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 52:28 ... where I can just like, bang, bang, bang-

Joe Rogan 52:30 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 52:30 ... freezer, stock it up-

Joe Rogan 52:32 Right.

Israel Adesanya 52:32 ... pigs, pop, pop, pop-

Joe Rogan 52:33 Organic meat.

Israel Adesanya 52:34 ... stab. Yeah.

Joe Rogan 52:34 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 52:35 Re- And it's different, man.

Joe Rogan 52:36 Oh, yeah.

Israel Adesanya 52:36 It's a lot different, especially when you have to section it yourself.

Joe Rogan 52:39 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 52:39 The fallow I sectioned myself. The big one, I gave to my butcher friend to make like garlic sausages and salami-

Joe Rogan 52:44 Oh, nice.

Israel Adesanya 52:44 ... all that kind of stuff.

Joe Rogan 52:45 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 52:45 It was beautiful. And then, yeah, Rod taught me how to section the... You know, what... You use your... your hand's wet, you put it through the skin and it acts like a knife and it's e- it's a diff-

Joe Rogan 52:55 Oh, to separate the soft tissue.

Israel Adesanya 52:56 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 52:56 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 52:56 It's actually a good technique.

Joe Rogan 52:58 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 52:58 And yeah, it was fun. But it's been about two years now since I've been back in the bush 'cause, you know, I've been busy.

Joe Rogan 53:03 The nutrition, though, so much stronger.

Israel Adesanya 53:05 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 53:05 So good for athletes-

Israel Adesanya 53:06 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 53:06 ... for someone like yourself. My God, that, that... Fallow deer and-

Israel Adesanya 53:10 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 53:10 ... stag, that nutrition is as good as it gets-

Israel Adesanya 53:12 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 53:12 ... with wild animals.

Israel Adesanya 53:13 It's noth- And I think even more... Uh, I think it was before the, um, Brunson fight 'cause... Long story, but, like, after my debut... Uh, I'll go back to this. But, like, pretty much the, the Brunson fight, before it was when I realized how you eat affects how you think and how you feel, your mental health.

Joe Rogan 53:30 Oh, sure.

Israel Adesanya 53:30 'Cause beforehand, before the fight, before I started cutting weight, I was eating like shit. Like literally just... 'Cause, you know, I cut weight easy, so I'm just eating everything and whatnot. And then throughout that camp, I was getting like... I hurt myself as well. Remember I... As I mentioned at the post-fight press conference, and then I had to take a whole week off training. This is like five weeks out. And I had to make the call like, "Fuck, we're gonna pull from this fight so we don't leave it too late so they can find a replacement or take a whole week off, come back Monday, and then see how we feel." And then doing that, I ate right, I ate proper, you know. I was a little bit like depressed and shit like that 'cause of the way I was eating already, but that week transitioned everything just 'cause of the way I was eating and the way I looked after my body. And then when I got back to camp, boom. And I realized through that camp and also reading Charlemagne's book as well, The Shook Ones.

Joe Rogan 54:16 Oh, yeah.

Israel Adesanya 54:17 It kind of helped me. Or listening to it. And that's-

Joe Rogan 54:18 Yeah, I listened to it too.

Israel Adesanya 54:19 I suck at reading-

Joe Rogan 54:20 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 54:21 ... reading and writing.

Joe Rogan 54:21 Well, that's a good one to listen to too because it's read by him-

Israel Adesanya 54:23 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 54:23 ... and he's such a-

Israel Adesanya 54:24 He's funny.

Joe Rogan 54:24 ... interesting orator.

Israel Adesanya 54:25 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 54:25 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 54:25 And the way he reads, uh, he's funny.

Joe Rogan 54:27 Yeah.

Israel Adesanya 54:27 'Cause I listen to Brilliant Idiots as well, so it just... Yeah.

Joe Rogan 54:29 Yeah. Well, he's honest.

Israel Adesanya 54:30 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 54:30 He's hon-... I mean, like for a guy like him to talk about being fucked up with anxiety, it's like-

Israel Adesanya 54:34 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 54:34 ... people are like, "What? You?"

Israel Adesanya 54:36 Really?

Joe Rogan 54:36 "You're the guy who talks about crazy shit."

Israel Adesanya 54:37 Nah. People don't understand, man. Like even my boy, Chance, he's with me right now, you know. Like, for me, I like to... 'Cause I'm on this-... journey now. I like to take those that came up with me, I bring them on this journey. Like, when, I went to Dubai, I brought my brother w- with me so I can inspire him. I went to Nigeria, I brought AB with me, you know, 'cause he's Nigerian. I told him after this trip, like, "Be careful, 'cause you're gonna..." You know holiday blues? You know, like, when you come back from a holiday and you feel like, oh, and y- everyone, all these Instagram hoes post, "Take me back." You know? With their-

Joe Rogan 55:03 Mm-hmm.

Israel Adesanya 55:03 ... bikini shots and whatnot. I told him, like, "When you get back home, you're gonna feel it." And I know, 'cause I've experienced it as well. After my UFC debut, I literally... My afterparty was three hours of just, "Hi, nice to meet you. Hi." Like-

Joe Rogan 55:16 I love-

Israel Adesanya 55:16 At one point, I literally went to go hide somewhere and some guy found me, he's like, "Bro, you all right? What are you doing?" I'm like, "I'm good, I'm good. I'm just chilling. I'm just taking five minutes alone." He's like, "Oh, yeah." He's like, "No, yeah, me understand, eh," and just sat next to me. I'm just like, "Fuck." He didn't get it.

Joe Rogan 55:29 (laughs) Alone means you not being here, motherfucker.

Israel Adesanya 55:32 Yeah, exactly. And then after, I go home, like, you know, got a bonus, got a nice check from the UFC, and then got depressed. And I'm just like, "What the fuck?"

Joe Rogan 55:42 For real?

Israel Adesanya 55:42 Yeah. Like, I'm home alone with my own thoughts and I was like, "What the fuck? Why am..." I didn't get that, I didn't understand it. So I, even just 'cause of everything that was happening, I started seeing a therapist straight away, just 'cause I felt like no one teaches you how to be famous.

Joe Rogan 55:53 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 55:53 There's no fucking book about this. And I've seen a lot of people, uh, athletes, movies, singers, rappers-

Joe Rogan 55:57 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 55:57 ... rise and fall.

Joe Rogan 55:58 Yes.

Israel Adesanya 55:59 And I'm not gonna be one of those people.

Joe Rogan 56:00 Good for you.

Israel Adesanya 56:01 John Jones. But, um...

Joe Rogan 56:02 (laughs)

Israel Adesanya 56:03 (laughs) But then I went to a therapist from Octo- from February to October, just to kinda, like, learn some tools to help me with this. And then, so after my first fight had happened, my second fight had happened, my third fight, Brad