"You can't take away from what he has done" - Joe Rogan on whether a loss to Alex Pereira will tarnish Israel Adesanya's legacy

Joe Rogan believes that Israel Adesanya's legacy will remain intact irrespective of the outcome of his UFC 281 title fight against Alex Pereira. Speaking of the Nigerian-born Kiwi's spectacular middleweight title reign, Rogan even highlighted Adesanya's dominant win over a surging Paulo Costa back in 2020.

While Pereira holds two kickboxing wins over 'The Last Stylebender', Rogan believes that 'Poatan' will face a much more improved fighter at UFC 281. When asked if a potential loss to Pereira will affect Adesanya's legacy, the UFC color commentator told his guest Will Harris on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast:

"No, Izzy's a human being. You can't take away from what he's done 'cause what he's done is spectacular. I mean look at what he did to Paulo Costa. Paulo Costa was running through everybody, walked down Yoel Romero. And Izzy just lit him on fire. Just lit him on fire, ne never even had a chance in that fight. He was just getting outclassed. I think the Izzy of today is very different than the Izzy that fought Pereira twice. Both fighters. He's different now, he's better, he's way better."

Watch the clip below:

Catch the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience below:

---

Israel Adesanya's legacy is marred by a few boring fights

Israel Adesanya knocked out Robert Whittaker in front of the latter's home crowd in Melbourne to become the undisputed middleweight champion in 2019. However, Adesanya wasn't able replicate this dominance in his first title defense against Yoel Romero.

'The Last Stylebender' avoided a slugfest and cautiously outpointed Romero from a distance to reel in a decision victory, an approach that became well associated with him over time. After widespread criticism for a lackluster performance, Adesanya promised a finish in his next title defense against Paulo Costa and lived up to it with a second-round TKO.

However, that was the last time Israel Adesanya secured a finish, although he has successfully defended his title thrice since. While the middleweight champion picked up impressive decision wins against Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker, his last title defense against Jared Cannonier faced substantial criticism. Amidst accusations of being a boring fighter, 'The Last Stylebender' prepares for his bout against Alex Pereira, a famed knockout artist.