'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Israel Adesanya reflected on his performance against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271.
'The Last Stylebender' spoke to Laura Sanko backstage after his successful title defense. Adesanya revealed that his gameplan was to 'play it safe' as he became aware of the situation in the fight.
"We had to take it round by round because he wasn't as urgent as we thought he would be in the third, fourth and fifth round because he knew he was down, we knew he was down [on the points]. So, we just played it safe...He didn't do enough to fight," said Adesanya
Watch the full interview below:
Robert Whittaker put on a competitive performance against Adesanya compared to the last time they fought in the octagon.
Learning from his knockout loss against the Kiwi, Whittaker came in with minute adjustments and tried to implement his strategy to wrestle. However, the middleweight king forced Whittaker to stay on his heels for most of the fight and landed more significant strikes over the course of five rounds.
In the end, the judges gave the nod to Adesanya, who won by a unanimous decision. (48-47, 48-47 and 49-46)
Israel Adesanya slams Robert Whittaker for saying he won the fight at UFC 271
Israel Adesanya also wasn't too pleased with Robert Whittaker's post-fight comments. The Australian believed he had done enough to win the rematch and secure the middleweight title.
In the post-fight interview, Whittaker stated that he was surprised by the decision and thought he had won the fight decisively.
"Yeah, I did, I did [felt like I had done enough to win]," said Whittaker. "I know I started off rocky in the first round but I feel like I took every [round] after that. It is what it is...I'm happy that I fought my heart out and I left it here, but I'm gutted. I thought I did enough, I thought I had that."
Watch Whittaker speak after his loss to Adesanya at UFC 271 below:
Adesanya addressed Whittaker's comments and hit out at 'The Reaper'. The champion also hilariously referenced Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori.
"I heard, he thought he won the fight or some s***. I don't know, what he and Vettori were sipping on, maybe it was [Paulo] Costa's wine but f****** hell, he did not win that fight. Yeah, same thing, he needs to go have a shower as well and reflect and realize that, that's not true," said Adesanya.
Watch Israel Adesanya have a go at Robert Whittaker after UFC 271:
Israel Adesanya defeated Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori in his previous two outings with impressive performances. No one has been able to defeat the Kiwi in the middleweight division. His next challenger should be Jared Cannonier, who defeated Derek Brunson at UFC 271.
