"Like a f**king king"- Joe Rogan applauds Israel Adesanya's attitude after his loss to Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya was dethroned as the UFC's middleweight champion at UFC 281. Adesanya's fifth-round TKO loss to Alex Pereira was shocking, particularly after how the former champion controlled the first four rounds.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently shared his thoughts on how Adesanya has handled defeat.

Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan discussed how Adesanya has responded to the defeat, stating:

"Like a f**king king, like a king. He was saying bring back Steve Mazzagatti because Steve Mazzagatti was a referee that was famous for letting fights go way too long... Mazzagatti was kind of famous for that for whatever reason, whether it was justified or not, but it was just hilarious that Izzy was saying bring back Steve Mazzagatti."

Rogan added:

"Then he went on Andrew Schulz's podcast on Monday, so he was on Schulz's podcast Monday, they were drinking, having fun. He handled it very, very well... It's f**king the game they play man. I mean, Izzy knocked a lot of f**king people unconscious. Izzy put it on everybody in the division."

Adesanya's loss at UFC 281 marked his third loss to his opponent in his combat sports career. He will likely get a chance to avenge his defeat in Pereira's first title defense.

Watch Joe Rogan discuss how Israel Adesanya has handled his loss below (starting at the 2:55 mark):

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Israel Adesanya shares thoughts on controversial UFC 281 stoppage

Israel Adesanya's fifth-round loss to Alex Pereira did not come without controversy. While Pereira clearly wobbled and stunned Adesanya, the former champion was not downed when referee Marc Goddard waved the fight off. Adesanya, who was up three rounds to one on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage, shared his thoughts on Goddard's decision.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, Adesanya stated:

"You reffed the Gastelum fight. You've seen where I can go to. You should have that kind of faith in me, and also you gave Kelvin Gastelum every chance after he got dropped the most in any title fight in the UFC's history. So I didn't get dropped, yeah I got wobbled, but I wobbled 'cause of my leg. You know, I got hit big shots but I wobbled 'cause of my leg."

While Adesanya did note that Goddard is one of the best referees in the sport, he wasn't thrilled with the decision. Although he was on his way to losing the round, Adesanya felt that he could have survived the final few minutes.

Watch Israel Adesanya's full comments on the controversial UFC 281 stoppage below: