Joe Rogan and Israel Adesanya would love the UFC to invest in a kickboxing league, believing with the right marketing, they could grow the sport exponentially.
The pair are also convinced the public would fall in love with the brutal knockouts the striking art provides.
Joe Rogan and Israel Adesanya want the UFC to start a kickboxing league
Before his time in the UFC, Israel Adesanya proved his calibre beyond doubt, putting together a scintillating highlight reel in Glory kickboxing.
Blessed with lightning hands and an innate fighting IQ, ‘The Last Stylebender’ cemented his place as one of the biggest names in the sport. However, it wasn’t until he joined the world’s premier mixed martial arts organisation that he became a genuine superstar.
This frustrates Joe Rogan, who believes that with the right marketing, kickboxing could explode on the global scene. On JRE MMA Show #164, he welcomed Adesanya onto his show and gave his unfiltered opinion.
The commentator said: “I really wish the UFC, I know they’re invested in this slap fighting s**t, but instead of that, have a kickboxing league. I think they don’t think people would get into kickboxing; I think they’re wrong.”
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After listening to Rogan, the combat sports legend, added to that stance, pointing out that another organisation has seen success in kickboxing.
He explained: “They just did the one in Denver for ONE FC recently, and it went well. The fights are crazy. A lot of knockdowns. A lot of action-packed stuff. If it was just marketed the right way with the UFC’s marketing machine, easily, it would be one of the world’s biggest leagues.”
Rogan responded: “Easily, because everybody loves KO’s, everybody loves stand-up fights.”
The analyst then insisted that he’d love the UFC to platform kickboxing and Muay Thai legend, Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
The 57-year-old asserted: “You’re going to get real KO’s because no one can grapple, so you’re gonna get people that are forced to stand-up and you could then attract the greatest strikers in the world like ONE FC is doing. They’re getting all these Thai killers, like Rodtang. They’re all coming over and they’re fighting in the cage now.
“I feel like there’s an opportunity for that, for a kickboxing league in America that would be hugely successful if the UFC machine got behind it.”
Israel Adesanya reveals he made a massive amount of money for his UFC debut
While the Nigerian-born fighter didn’t become the global celebrity his talent deserved in kickboxing, he certainly still made an impact within the combat sports community.
Noticing his star power, the UFC signed him up, realising he had the potential to become one of the biggest names in the promotion.
With this considered, in his debut in the organisation, Adesanya was able to make significantly more than most other competitors.
He recently revealed just how much money he took home.
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