Joe Rogan’s ‘Prime’ Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis Prediction Upstaged by Wild NSFW Throwback

Remember what happened to then-unbeaten Paulo Costa at UFC 253 in September 2020? Israel Adesanya dismantled the Brazilian with a ruthless second-round finish after a heated buildup. Later, to mock his rival, Adesanya infamously dry-humped Paulo Costa immediately after securing the win and his middleweight title defense. Costa, unaware in the moment, later blasted Adesanya as “human trash” once he saw the footage, and even called on Dana White to book a rematch with ‘The Last Stylebender.’

Fast forward to now, Adesanya is coming off a devastating loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night, stopped by an overhand right and ground punches. And with Khamzat Chimaev crowned the new middleweight champion at UFC 315, a title shot is off the table for the former king at the moment. Instead, Adesanya has hinted at revisiting an old rivalry, but Joe Rogan believes there’s another matchup that would have been perfect: a prime Adesanya against Dricus Du Plessis. If you don’t remember, Adesanya actually lost to Du Plessis at UFC 305 via rear-naked choke. But what would have happened if the 36-year-old had faced DDP in his prime? Yes, Joe Rogan did give his prediction, but something else ended up stealing the spotlight. What is it, you ask?

Dricus Du Plessis would have faced a much tougher test

A few days ago on his JRE Clips, Joe Rogan and his guests were analyzing the Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev fight of UFC 319. During the discussion, Rogan brought up Israel Adesanya’s 2020 bout against the much bigger, stronger, and more durable Paulo Costa, remarking, “It’s interesting, the Izzy fight. I went and watched that again, and it seemed like Izzy had an advantage up to a point.”

In case you don’t remember, Adesanya chopped Paulo Costa down with relentless leg kicks, nullified his pressure, and stopped him from overwhelming him with volume. That fight cemented Izzy’s status as champion, but Rogan also recalled how the years afterward were less kind. Adesanya lost to Jan Błachowicz, rebounded with three wins, then fell to Alex Pereira before reclaiming the belt in a rematch. Since then, however, he has dropped three straight fights. “But then the pressure got to him, and then he got hit with a couple of long shots,” Rogan said. “He just looked like he did not have enough in him to fight his way out of it. And when he went down, he got submitted pretty quickly afterwards.” For Rogan, those moments symbolized a shift, Adesanya was no longer the same unstoppable force.

Adesanya’s downturn isn’t solely attributed to age. His approach — founded on precise striking, exceptional distance management, and keen defensive awareness — hinges on impeccable timing. As the fleeting moments of instinct faded, his room for mistake vanished. In the bouts against Strickland, Du Plessis, and Imavov, that brief moment of hesitation proved to be disastrous. In contrast, Du Plessis’ style remains resilient and sharp, unaffected by the passage of time. That’s why Rogan’s “prime vs. prime” thought experiment strikes a chord: it juxtaposes brilliance with enduring chaos.

That led Rogan to a hypothetical. “But I wonder what if Izzy was in his prime, how that fight would have looked because that would have been a lot different.” He argued that a prime Adesanya – quicker, less worn down, and more motivated, would have been better equipped to handle Dricus Du Plessis’ relentless style. And then Rogan threw in a wild NSFW throwback to the Paulo Costa fight as the perfect example.

“That’s prime. That’s also motivated Izzy like, ‘f— you.’” He then reminded of the embarrassment and recalled, “Sitting down on his shorts, I mean, put him away quick and then dry humped him.” The room erupted in laughter, and while Rogan joined in, he quickly cautioned his audience not to emulate that behavior. Still, in his view, that version of Adesanya could have absorbed and answered Du Plessis’ “bananas” pressure, making for a completely different outcome. But the problem doesn’t there.

As it seems, Dricus Du Plessis’ camp had previously criticized Khamzat Chimaev’s team, insisting that “Borz” couldn’t defeat DDP with wrestling. “You can’t think you’re gonna beat my guy coming with one thing, and it’s wrestling. That guy’s one-dimensional,” DDPs’ coach Morne Visser said. Yet, Chimaev eventually did just that. So, with all the backlash Du Plessis’ camp has been facing since, Kamaru Usman was among the first to call it out following their showdown.

Usman claps back at Dricus Du Plessis’ camp over Chimaev

On the Pound-for-Pound podcast, Kamaru Usman shared his honest take on the UFC 319 main event. “One thing I’ll say about it, and even in the lead-up, I felt this, I don’t want to say Dricus was overconfident, but I felt that vibe with the team. The way they were talking, there was a lack of respect for Khamzat. Like, ‘Oh, you can’t beat us with just one skill.’ Well, that’s a pretty damn important skill! And it’s a big one to overlook,” Usman explained. His comments quickly circulated on social media, clipped from the Pound-for-Pound show, and provided added context to how the fight played out.

Interestingly, Usman’s assessment echoed the very words of Morne Visser during a Submission Radio interview, proving Big John McCarthy’s prediction right that the South African coach’s dismissive comments would come back to haunt the team. Adding to the aftermath, Arman Tsarukyan even shared footage of Dricus du Plessis breathing heavily on his stool after Chimaev’s dominant showing. The criticism has only grown louder since then, though Visser maintains that DDP only needs to correct a few mistakes before he’s fully prepared for another clash with Chimaev.

That said, what are our thoughts on Joe Rogan’s take, and his claim that a prime Adesanya would have handled Dricus Du Plessis’ pressure differently? And as for Dricus Du Plessis himself, do you think he’ll be able to adjust and actually beat Borz in a rematch?