Israel Adesanya: Whittaker Should Be Stripped, F*** The Interim
Rising star Israel Adesanya thinks middleweight champion Robert Whittaker should be stripped of his title.
The fight game is a cruel sport. First Kelvin Gastelum proclaimed himself the “new” middleweight champ after Whittaker was forced to undergo emergency surgery to repair a hernia and a collapsed bowel. Adesanya continues to weigh in on the subject.
‘The Last Stylebender’ isn’t opposed to fighting Gastelum in Whittaker’s absence. He just believes the fight should be for the 185-pound title after Whittaker gets stripped.
“I think Robert should get stripped,” Adesanya said on The MMA Hour. “When he gets healthy, he could be the number one contender, so me and Kelvin should fight for the real belt.”
As unfortunate as Whittaker’s situation is, Adesanya has a valid point. Since winning the middleweight title in July 2017 and earning the official title when Georges St-Pierre vacated it, he is yet to officially defend it. According to Adesanya, it is very reminiscent of another former champion.
“This is not the first time that he’s had to pull out due to injury or something like that and Dominick Cruz, eventually he got stripped,” Adesanya said.
“Stylebender” speculated whether or not it was the champion’s training. Then, Adesanya took a very subtle dig at “The Reaper.”
“Maybe it’s because of his training, maybe it’s because of the way he, I don’t know what his training is like,” Adesanya said. “But I look after myself. I don’t know what causes hernias, I’ve seen how they happen and whatnot but I don’t know what causes it exactly. But, yeah. I look after myself. I show up.”
“F*ck the interim,” Adesanya said. “Strip Rob, we fight for the real belt, and when he’s healthy he can
