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What's the story?
While recently speaking with Submission Radio, current UFC Interim Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya said that he is not trying to get under the skin of Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker with the back-and-forth trash talking between the two.
Adesanya instead claimed that he is stating facts, and much like Whittaker, is also helping in order to sell the fight between the two champions.
In case you didn't know...
Having made his promotional debut at UFC 221, Nigeria born Israel Adesanya made history at UFC 236 when he defeated Kelvin Gastelum to win the interim UFC Middleweight Championship, which also marked Adesanya's first title win in the UFC.
Prior to his historic title win, Adesanya defeated the legendary Anderson Silva at UFC 234. 'The Last Airbender' also holds vital wins over the likes of Derek Brunson and Brad Tavares.
The heart of the matter
Current UFC Interim Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya recently spoke with Submission Radio and during the interview, the interim UFC Middleweight Champion claimed that he is definitely not trying to get under the skin of Robert Whittaker and is stating straight up facts.
Adesanya added that the fight between him and Whittaker has already sold itself out and even claimed that he just happens to talk a lot and spit bars in order to sell the fight. (H/T: MMA Fighting)
“I’m not trying to get under his skin, I’m just stating facts. I’m just stating facts. . . And I said it, I’ve seen it, he’s not a guy that’s scared, I’m not a guy that’s scared. Yeah, he means business, and so do I. If he doesn’t want to sell the fight, cool, don’t sell the fight. The fight’s already sold itself. I just happen to talk a lot, and I just happen to fucking have bars to sell the fight. So yeah, you’re welcome. You’re welcome."
In addition, Adesanya also labeled Whittaker as "a mute" and called him a "knuckle-dragger". 'The Last Airbender' continued by stating that he feels that getting into Whittaker's head doesn't make any difference and at the end of the day, its the skills of a fighter that pay the bills.
“Rob’s not the kind of guy that I don’t think… like I said, he’s a mute, he’s a bit of a knuckle-dragger. He’s a throwback, just meats and potatoes, ‘Oh, I do my talking in the cage’. You know that line? ‘I do my talking in the cage’ [laughs]. And so do I, I’m multifaceted. I don’t think if you get in his head or not, I don’t think it makes a difference. At the end of the day, skills pays the bills. I mean, check my resume. Come on, man, check my resume. You see the skills are heavily there.”
What's next?
Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker will square off at UFC 243 at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
