Israel Adesanya says he was wrong to question Robert Whittaker’s Kiwi heritage: “I was wrong. That’s called growth.”

By Susan Cox - August 1, 2023

Israel Adesanya is saying he was wrong to question Robert Whittaker’s Kiwi heritage.

Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, UFC 271

‘The Last Stylebender’ used to refer to Robert Whittaker as a ‘mozzie’, questioning the fighters heritage as a New Zealand born fighter representing Australia.

It was just last month where Dricus Du Plessis  (20-2 MMA) defeated Robert Whittaker (24-7 MMA) in a middleweight bout at UFC 290.

Prior to forecasting his TKO victory, Du Plessis claimed that he was on route to becoming the first real African champion.

Well, Israel Adesanya has decided to admit he was wrong in his questioning Whittaker’s heritage, and believes Du Plessis should also affirm he made a mistake with his aforementioned remarks.

Adesanya, speaking on ‘The Halfcast Podcast’ admitted his error:

“Funny enough, someone brought it to my attention that I did the same thing to Rob. And I was like, ‘True, I did, because I called him a mozzie.’ And I was like, ‘F**k, they’re right.’ But guess what? I was wrong. That’s called growth. I learned. I realized that’s – how’s this, a black guy, telling this f**king Maori that, ‘Nah, you’re not a f**king true Kiwi because you live in Australia.’ That’s stupid. So again, this is called growth.”

Continuing, Israel Adesanya said (h/t MMAJunkie):

“I can admit when I was wrong. I f**ked up back then, but you learn. So I would never say that to Rob again because, who am I to try and take away his heritage? That’s f**king stupid. I wasn’t even born here, but I claim to be from here because this is where my fighting heritage is from. But for me to have to say that to Rob, that was very stupid and that was wrong. So I shouldn’t have done that – but you learn.”

The current middleweight champion is looking for defend his title at UFC 293 on September 9th of this year in Sydney, Australia. As for who his opponent will be, there is still no confirmation. After Du Plessis beat Whittaker, it would make sense that he would be next in line.

Speaking of that possibility, Israel Adesanya said:

“Now he doesn’t want to fight. Even after, he’s like ‘Oh bro, all you had to do was put some gloves on, we could have got it on right there.’ B*tch ass, f**k you wouldn’t have because guess what? He didn’t want it. When I told him feel me, people were like, ‘Oh, he’s so classy walking away. He’s so classy.’ I’m like, ‘Bro, he didn’t even walk away. He felt me. He didn’t want to feel me. He’s not a scared man – he’s a tough dude. He’s very crafty, and he’s got a good team behind him – smart team.”

Concluding Adesanya said:

“I don’t think he’s a scared man, but I’ll tell you he’s scared of me. You know when you look in someone’s eyes, you just know straight away. He didn’t call me into the cage, I stepped in the cage myself. I didn’t even see him call me … I stepped into the cage because I made this sh*t happen. This motherf**ker – I hope … I really was hoping he’d f**king step up. But he’s a b*tch, and I’ll tell you right now: Keep training. Keep training. I’ve got something for your ass, so keep training.”

Would you like to see Israel Adesanya vs Dricus Du Plessis this September?

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Israel Adesanya UFC