Dricus du Plessis x Israel adesanya made the main fight of the UFC 305. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/UFC
Joe Rogan believes fatigue and a possible injury were determining factors in the defeat of Israel adesanya for Dricus Du Plessis No. UFC 305. In an interview with the 'JRE MMA Show' podcast, the commentator analyzed the Nigerian's performance during the middleweight fight (up to 83,9 kg) and pointed out that the former champion seemed increasingly slower and less accurate in the final rounds.
“When a fighter gets tired, like Izzy did in the fourth round with Dricus, you can see that he’s not the same Izzy from the first round, who’s lightning fast, moving, countering, controlling the distance and getting out of range. This is an Izzy who’s experiencing fatigue,” Rogan said.
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Rogan concluded that while Adesanya likely suffered an injury during the fight, it was fatigue that really hurt him.
“I think he was hurt, but the problem is he was tired. I mean, I'm sure he was hurt,” he concluded.
Poatan 'deciphered' Adesanya
The commentator also mentioned that Alex Poatán, the former champion's rival, suspects that the Nigerian was injured during the fight, due to the reduced number of leg kicks, one of his main blows.
“Maybe Adesanya was hurt. You could see he kicked very little. That inside kick of Adesanya is very good… It was a good weapon and he didn’t keep using that inside kick. Even Dricus said it bothered him; it bothered me too. He didn’t keep doing it,” Pereira said.
Adesanya neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of an injury, but his response to Pereira was telling. “This guy knows me,” the former champion tweeted, indicating that Poatan was correct in his observations.
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