"I love that dude" - When Israel Adesanya brought Joe Rogan to tears by defending him at UFC 271 presser

Nearly three years ago, Israel Adesanya came to Joe Rogan's defense, doing so at the UFC 271 pre-fight press conference. The reason behind his actions was the controversy Rogan had been embroiled in at the time. At the time, R&B singer India Arie shared a clip of the UFC commentator saying the racial slur 'n***er.'

This led to tremendous backlash in the mainstream media, forcing an apology from Rogan. However, at the UFC 271 pre-fight presser, 'The Last Stylebender' felt the need to speak up in Rogan's defense, praising the latter's character amid cheers from fans in attendance.

"First off, let me take this one, hold up. I'm black, I can take this one. Look, there's a lot of c*nts in this game, there's a lot of snakes in this game. I've been in this fight game since 2008, and Joe Rogan is one of the nicest, coolest, humble motherf***ers I've had the pleasure of working with."

Check out Israel Adesanya defending Joe Rogan (8:28):

The former middleweight champion's support for Rogan was so moving to the longtime UFC commentator that it left him in tears. This was disclosed by comedian and podcaster Andrew Schulz, who welcomed 'The Last Stylebender' to his FLAGRANT podcast back in 2022.

Schulz is a close friend of Rogan's and revealed that the veteran MMA voice was so overcome by emotion over Adesanya's words that he couldn't contain it. He said:

"I don't know if you and Rogan spoke, but I was talking to him about it and he said it made him tear up, man."

Adesanya responded by saying:

"I love that [Rogan] dude. We know what’s going on. That’s why I said f**k the noise. Don’t focus on what they want you to focus on, focus on why they’re canceling Rogan. Why now?”

“Do you know how much manpower it takes to go through every single episode of the JRE?” he asked. “They probably had a whole team on that s**t. Trying to find every time he used the word. They would have had like 10 people on that s**t. And it’s just like, why now? Just use your brain.”

Check out Andrew Schulz detailing Joe Rogan's reaction to Israel Adesanya (0:10):

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Israel Adesanya isn't the only UFC fighter who came to Joe Rogan's defense

Following Israel Adesanya's UFC 271 pre-fight presser defense of Joe Rogan, another fighter did the same in the subsequent event. At the UFC 272 ceremonial weigh-ins, former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington took the opportunity to praise Rogan and dismiss cancel culture.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Joe Rogan. Before we start talking about the future, let's talk about the present. It's so great to have you back Joe Rogan. We love you at the UFC, we miss you. F*** cancel culture!"

Check out Colby Covington defending Joe Rogan (22:35):

The controversy surrounding Rogan died down quickly, and he emerged from it largely unscathed. He remains synonymous with the UFC and well liked by most of the promotion's fighters.