Joe Rogan and Israel Adesanya Implore UFC to create a Kickboxing League, Leave Slap Fighting Behind
On a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Rogan sat down with Israel Adesanya and discussed the innovation of fight leagues like ONE FC, which offers more than strictly mixed martial arts fights.
In fact, ONE thought outside the box in 2018 and started showcasing disciplines like Kickboxing and Muay Thai, breaking the standard mold for what a fight promotion can do.
Rogan and Adesanya are both fans of this move and certainly approve of it more than anything outrageous, like if some moron decided to open up a slap-fighting league. That would be crazy, and surely nobody would do that. Right?
Joe Rogan and Israel Adesanya Wish that the UFC would innovate like ONE FC
“I like how ONE has everything. They have grappling matches, they have kickboxing matches, they have Muay Thai matches, and they have MMA matches. I think that is the way to go,” Joe Rogan said (H/T BJPenn.com)
Israel Adesanya is also a big fan of what ONE is doing, and speaks with the experience of a legendary kickboxer. “They (ONE) just did one in Denver,” Adesanya began, speaking about an event he watched. “The fights were crazy, a lot of knockdowns and a lot of action-packed stuff. If it were marketed the right way, with the UFC’s marketing machine, easily, it would be one of the biggest things.”
Joe Rogan agreed with Adesanya’s sentiment and added, “Everybody loves KOs; everybody loves stand-up fights. You’re going to get real KOs because no one can grapple. Then you will attract the greatest strikers in the world like what ONE is doing.”
With ONE proving that traditional striking martial arts can sell, the UFC should consider making some headway into this market. Not only that but kickboxing and muay thai also allow each fighter to defend themselves, unlike the brutal rules of Dana White’s Power Slap league, which dictates that fighters must stand there and take a full power blow to the head.
If the UFC made a foray into the kickboxing and muay Thai world, would you give it a watch?
