Israel Adesanya believes Robert Whittaker doesn’t come across as genuine.
Adesanya and Whittaker are set to collide on Oct. 5 at UFC 243. A location for the event has not been revealed. This will be a middleweight title unification bout as Adesanya holds interim gold, while Whittaker is the main champion.
Adesanya Says Whittaker Backtracks
“The Last Stylebender” has made it clear that he doesn’t appreciate Whittaker sharing disparaging memes of him on social media. He’s also blasted Whittaker for his response to Jon Jones’ offer to help train with him. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Adesanya said that Whittaker is attempting to be the good guy:
“It’s not animosity, it’s just fighting. We’re gonna fight and the guy, he backtracks a lot. He’ll say something in real life and then, ‘oh I’m sorry I hurt your feelings.’ I’m like, don’t try and play the nice guy now. You just keep talking sh*t online and it’s like well keep that same energy in-person. It’s not animosity, I don’t hate the guy. I’m sure he’s a nice guy to those who love him and whatnot, but it’s just we’re gonna fight. There’s no minced words, we’re gonna f*cking fight.”
If all goes according to plan, then this will be Whittaker’s first middleweight title defense. “The Reaper’s” rematch with Yoel Romero back in June 2018 did not count as a championship bout as “The Soldier of God” missed weight. Whittaker won that fight via split decision.
