Getty Joe Rogan
UFC commentator, podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan had a strong reaction to middleweight champion Israel Adesanya’s dominant victory over Paulo Costa in the main event of UFC 253 on Saturday night.
“The Last Stylebender” put on a striking clinic against Costa during their highly anticipated fight. After stinging “The Eraser” with a head kick, Adesanya continued to land on the feet until dropping the Brazilian fighter, finishing the fight by second-round TKO.
Rogan, who was not commentating UFC 253, praised the middleweight champion and called him the best striker in mixed martial arts.
Taking to Instagram after the fight, Rogan wrote, “THE BEST, and MOST SOPHISTICATED STRIKER IN THE SPORT!! Holy f*** that was amazing!! Congrats to the champ!! @stylebender.”
Then, the next day, Rogan posted about Adesanya’s performance again having watched the fight for a second time.
He wrote, “So nice I had to watch it twice. Hard to truly express how special this performance was by @stylebender. Just an absolute clinic.”
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Rogan Wasn’t a Part of the Commentating Team for UFC 253
Rogan is a staple color commentator for UFC pay-per-view events. However, he doesn’t participate in fight cards that take place outside of the United States. Since UFC 253 took place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, Rogan did not join Jon Anik and Paul Felder on the broadcast.
UFC 254, which is headlined by a lightweight title unification bout between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champion Justin Gaethje, will also take place on Yas Island. The pay-per-view card is scheduled for October 24 and Rogan likely won’t work that fight either.
If Rogan doesn’t work a UFC Fight Night card when the promotion heads back to the United States, and he doesn’t call UFC 254, fans may have to wait months before hearing Rogan in the broadcast booth again.
UFC 253 Fight Card & Results
Another championship fight took place on Saturday night. Jan Blachowicz and Dominick Reyes fought for the light heavyweight title Jon Jones vacated. Reyes came into the fight the favorite but was taken out by Blachowicz in the second round via TKO.
With the victory, Blachowicz is now the undisputed light heavyweight champion. To read Jones’ reaction to the fight, tap here.
All in all, UFC 253 featured 11 bouts. See the fight card and results from UFC 253:
Main Card
Middleweight Championship Bout: Israel Adesanya def. Paulo Costa via Second-Round TKO
Light Heavyweight Championship Bout: Jan Błachowicz def. Dominick Reyes via Second-Round TKO
Flyweight Bout: Brandon Royval def. Kai Kara-France via Second-Round Guillotine Choke
Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Ketlen Vieira def. Sijara Eubanks Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
150-Pound Catchweight Bout: Hakeem Dawodu def. Zubaira Tukhugov via Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Lightweight Bout: Brad Riddell def. Alex da Silva Coelho via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Welterweight Bout: Jake Matthews def. Diego Sanchez via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
150-Pound Catchweight Bout: Ľudovít Klein def. Shane Young via First-Round KO
Light Heavyweight Bout: William Knight def. Aleksa Camur via Unanious Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Early Preliminary Card
Heavyweight Bout: Juan Espino Dieppa def. Jeff Hughes via First-Round Scarf Hold Choke
Light Heavyweight Bout: Danilo Marques def. Khadis Ibragimov via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
READ NEXT: Jon Jones Reacts to Jan Blachowicz Winning the Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 253