Israel Adesanya Fires Back At Robert Whittaker Over Recent Comments

Israel Adesanya fires back at UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker over some recent comments. Make no mistake about it, both fighters want to compete against each other. Before they can do that, the rising prospect must get past his toughest challenge to date.

With Whittaker set to be out of action until this summer, the UFC booked Kelvin Gastelum and Adesanya for the interim middleweight title at UFC 236.

The UFC middleweight champion made it known during a recent interview that he thinks Adesanya’s performance against Anderson Silva was underwhelming.

Adesanya Fires Back

During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, the prospect fired back at the champion. He claims he’ll prove how great he is.

“I don’t think of those comments and it doesn’t affect me in any way,” Adesanya said (H/T to MMA Fighting). “I mean, when the time comes, when I have the mic in my hand, I’m saying my thing. I’ll say, he thinks I’m not as good as I think I am, I’ll show him I’m greater than I think I am. So, they all can talk, they all have something to say until they’re in front of me, and they get chin checked.”

“A lot of people say they don’t care about the belt, but that’s not true,” Adesanya said. “For me, when I say it, I really mean that. But I care about it in a way like I care about my jewelry. It looks really nice, and also what it signifies, as well as being the best in the world. But I’ll tell you what, I’ve known a few fighters in the past who I’ve considered to be the best in the world who’ve never had a belt. And the belt’s not always a good judgment on who the best fighter actually is.”

Belt Won’t Change “Stylebender”

Adesanya then said he doesn’t believe he will feel any different when he has the belt. It would mainly signify that he had accomplished his goals.

“So yeah, for me, the belt is more like me living what I’ve dreamed in my head, me actually getting it done. And then it’s like, ‘and new’, Dana puts the belt around your waist, and that moment will be cool. But I won’t feel any different. Rashad Evans said it best. He said, after he won the belt at UFC 92 against Forrest Griffin, after he won the belt he expected to feel different, but he never did. And I already kind of know that about myself. Like, it’s not gonna be any different.”

The UFC 236 pay-per-view event is set to take place on Saturday, April 13, 2019 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET. The preliminary card will air on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET and the the UFC’s streaming service, Fight Pass.