JRE MMA Show #35 with Israel Adesanya
Joe Rogan (host), Israel Adesanya (guest), Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Joe Rogan and Israel Adesanya, JRE MMA Show #35 with Israel Adesanya explores israel Adesanya Breaks Down His Rise, Style, And MMA Evolution Israel Adesanya joins Joe Rogan shortly after his breakout UFC Vegas main event to dissect his performance, career path, and striking philosophy. He explains how a long, global kickboxing apprenticeship and a patient transition into MMA under coach Eugene Bareman shaped his current success. The conversation ranges from New Zealand’s striking lineage and super-camp culture to PEDs, judging, weight cutting, and the next generation of MMA specialists. Throughout, Adesanya frames fighting as an artistic, problem‑solving craft, emphasizing creativity, objectivity, and longevity over brawling for quick knockouts.
Israel Adesanya Breaks Down His Rise, Style, And MMA Evolution
Israel Adesanya joins Joe Rogan shortly after his breakout UFC Vegas main event to dissect his performance, career path, and striking philosophy. He explains how a long, global kickboxing apprenticeship and a patient transition into MMA under coach Eugene Bareman shaped his current success. The conversation ranges from New Zealand’s striking lineage and super-camp culture to PEDs, judging, weight cutting, and the next generation of MMA specialists. Throughout, Adesanya frames fighting as an artistic, problem‑solving craft, emphasizing creativity, objectivity, and longevity over brawling for quick knockouts.
Key Takeaways
Build a deep foundation before jumping into the UFC spotlight.
Adesanya deliberately fought extensively around the world in kickboxing and regional MMA before signing with the UFC, arguing that early hype without real experience (e. ...
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A great coach adapts to the fighter, not the other way around.
He contrasts an early Muay Thai coach who tried to force him into a textbook high-guard style with Eugene Bareman, who preserved Israel’s unorthodox, hands-down game and simply refined it, likening it to letting an artist write their own ‘song’.
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Deception and mental overload are core to high-level striking.
Adesanya uses feints, rhythm changes, and visual ‘scrambling’—inspired by breakdowns from analysts like Lawrence Kenshin and concepts from Firas Zahabi—to make opponents second-guess, freeze, and eventually give him finishing opportunities without overcommitting.
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Avoid chasing brawls; win clean and preserve your longevity.
He rejects the idea of forcing wild finishes when he’s already dominating, preferring Mayweather-style efficiency—hit without being hit—over Gaethje-style wars, to protect his brain and extend his career.
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Use losses and knockouts as data, not identity blows.
Discussing his KO loss in kickboxing, he frames it as a crucial lesson about not fighting to please others or prove toughness, but about staying true to his own style; now he re-watches his fights asking, “If I were fighting me, how would I beat me?”
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Dance, movement arts, and varied training sharpen ‘fight IQ’.
His background in popping and krump, plus admiration for Lomachenko’s dance training, convinced him that dance, katas, and coordinated movement build superior muscle memory, timing, and creativity that translate directly into striking.
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MMA’s systems—judging, rankings, PED policing, weight classes—still need reform.
He and Rogan criticize opaque rankings, inconsistent judging, outdated rules (like 12–6 elbows), dangerous weight cuts, and the constant technological arms race around PEDs, arguing that ex-fighters and better structures should shape the sport’s future.
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Notable Quotes
“I don't throw and hope. I aim and fire.”
— Israel Adesanya
“If you wanna prove you're the best fighter, you have to fight people from other codes.”
— Israel Adesanya
“I'm not gonna be that guy in brawls. I'm here to fight like Mayweather—get in, get out, make your money, and fuck off.”
— Israel Adesanya
“Everyone has an inner bitch. You’ve gotta conquer your inner bitch.”
— Joe Rogan
“Sometimes you’ve gotta stop and smell the roses. You just main-evented in Vegas—take this in.”
— Israel Adesanya
Questions Answered in This Episode
How much further can striking in MMA evolve, and what might the ‘next level’ after fighters like Adesanya and Zabit actually look like?
Israel Adesanya joins Joe Rogan shortly after his breakout UFC Vegas main event to dissect his performance, career path, and striking philosophy. ...
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If ex-fighters designed the ranking and judging systems, what specific criteria or structures would most improve fairness?
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How can fighters safely balance entertaining, high-risk styles with the kind of longevity-focused approach Adesanya advocates?
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Should dance, gymnastics, or other non-fight movement arts be systematically integrated into MMA training the way wrestling and BJJ are?
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What would a reformed weight-class system and weight-cut protocol look like if athlete health—not tradition—were the top priority?
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Transcript Preview
(cog whirring) Four, three, two, one. (door knocking) Stylebender, ladies and gentlemen.
Yeah.
Salut, sir.
Salut.
Congratulations, man. Mm. (drink slurping)
Thank you, thank you.
Dude, your fight, (cup thudding) your fight Friday night was, um, (smacks lips) that was what you would call, like, a coming out party-
Yeah.
... you know?
In America, in America.
In America.
Yeah.
Yeah. People got to see.
First fight in Vegas, first f- main event, uh, first top 10 guy. And I feel like I got to kinda, like, show a lotta people up 'cause before that fight, a lot of people were kinda like, "Shit, it's too much. It's too soon." Like-
The hype, yeah.
Yeah. It's like, "Oh, he's this and that." And for me, I, I, I wouldn't take insult to it 'cause they don't know, you know? You can't, um, you can't fault them for it, so yeah.
Well, you did a smart thing in the way you handled your, your transition to MMA too.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, you really, you really took your time and did it right.
100%.
When did... You and I talked for the first time about this how many years ago?
2015, I think.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, we talked... You, you hit me up on Instagram and said, you know, when am I gonna call one of your fights?
Yeah.
And I was like, "Yeah, we'll take our time." 'Cause my coach, he's the g- the mastermind behind all this, Eugene Behrman. And without him, my career would be in the shitter. So he kinda let... Just take our time. There's no rush. You're young.
Smart way to do it.
100%. 'Cause you see, like, looking for a fight-
Mm-hmm.
Guys like, example, Sage Northcutt, he's been up and down in the UFC fight, you know, like his rise and stuff like that. But you have to... You can't just come in here with, like, maybe three fights, unless maybe you're like a Micky Gall who also has extensive background in something else-
Mm-hmm.
... like jujitsu, you know?
Right.
But yeah, I took my time, fought around the world, fought different body types, different styles, and then eventually, uh, I think the UFC were like, "Okay, what do you want? Come on. Like, let's go." And then...
Well, you built up a lot of hype outside.
Mm-hmm.
You built up some hype kickboxing, you built up some hype in MMA-
Yeah.
... but you built up a lot of internet hype.
Yeah.
There was a lot of highlight videos made of you and people are like, "Oh, shit."
Yeah.
"Look at this guy." And then dudes were breaking down your, your videos, like breaking down technique, like, "Look how he sets this up."
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