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'F**k the noise': UFC champ Israel Adesanya blasts Joe Rogan critics

Riley Morgan
·Sports Reporter
·3-min read
Israel Adesanya (pictured right) has defended podcast host and UFC announcer Joe Rogan (pictured left). (Images: Twitter/Getty Images)
Israel Adesanya (pictured right) has defended podcast host and UFC announcer Joe Rogan (pictured left). (Images: Twitter/Getty Images)

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has come to the defence of under-fire podcast host Joe Rogan during the press conference before his fight.

Rogan has come under fire recently after he was accused of promoting misinformation surrounding Covid-19 in his podcast.

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The UFC commentator, and host of the biggest podcast in the world, also was heavily scrutinised for an out-of-context compilation video where he repeatedly said the 'n-word'.

Rogan's backlash has been huge with artists such as Neil Young and Jodi Mitchell removing their music on Spotify- the host of Rogan's podcast - in protest.

Spotify signed Rogan for $100 million back in 2020 to host his podcast.

Champ Israel Adesanya defends Joe Rogan

When UFC boss Dana White was asked about the Rogan situation during the press conference between Adesanya and Australian challenger Robert Whittaker, the Nigerian-born New Zealand fighter jumped in.

“I’m black, I can take this one,” Adesanya said.

“There’s a lot of c**ts in this game, there’s a lot of snakes in this game.

Israel Adesanya (pictured) reacts after defeating Marvin Vettori in their middleweight championship.
Israel Adesanya (pictured) reacts after defeating Marvin Vettori in their middleweight championship. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Jeff Bottari via Getty Images)

“I’ve been in this fight game since 2008 and Joe Rogan is one of the nicest, coolest, humble mother****ers I’ve had the pleasure of working with, understand that.

“F**k the noise, you know what they’re trying to do, you can’t control them, man, and he’s got the biggest platform in the world right now so that’s my n-word Joe Rogan, f**k the noise, just keep doing you Joe, have some mushrooms.”

Adesanya will defend his belt against Whittaker in a rematch.

Whittaker has vowed to correct the mistake he made in the first fight, which saw Adesanya win the belt with a vicious TKO.

Opponents Israel Adesanya (pictured left) and Robert Whittaker (pictured right) face off during the UFC 271 press conference.
Opponents Israel Adesanya (pictured left) and Robert Whittaker (pictured right) face off during the UFC 271 press conference. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images)

“I was burnt out and I was really dragging my feet to the [practice] sessions,” Whittaker told Yahoo Sports US.

“I was very reluctant to get into the training sessions or want to do more. The signs of burnout were there. I just wasn’t aware enough of it to see it.”

Whittaker has reeled off impressive victories over Gastelum, Cannonier and Till since losing to Adesanya.

And while it looks like he’s recovered his old mojo, Whittaker says that’s not the case.

“It’s a new Rob Whittaker, Rob Whittaker 2.0,” he said with a wry grin.

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