Israel Adesanya has respect for Robert Whittaker following the former UFC champion’s recent comments.
Adesanya and Whittaker did battle back in Oct. 2019. Going into the match Adesanya was the interim middleweight champion, while Whittaker held the main title. “The Last Stylebender” earned the distinction of undisputed champion with a second-round TKO victory over Whittaker.
Adesanya Speaks On Whittaker’s ‘Epiphany’
Whittaker recently spoke on why he needed time off before taking an Aug. 15 bout with Darren Till. “The Reaper” said he was burned out and his mental health suffered. Speaking to MMAJunkie.com, Adesanya showed his support for Whittaker.
“Rob, recently I read an article about him on the sand dunes and he had this epiphany where he was just like, ‘Huh what am I?’ and I kinda liked that for him,” Adesanya told MMA Junkie. “I’m happy for him that he realized that before it was too late because there’s more important things in this world than fighting. He’s got a family, he’s got friends and other things that are more important. Definitely, fighting is really important, but I’m happy that he made that realization that this (expletive) ain’t everything.
“All this (expletive) is gonna end one day and then what are you gonna be left with? Are you gonna be set up for life, or are you gonna be set up for life and have nothing in your personal life? You have to balance it, so I’m glad he’s starting to find that balance now.”
Adesanya is coming off a successful title defense over Yoel Romero back in March. “The Last Stylebender” earned a unanimous decision win for his first successful title defense. Many expect Adesanya to put his gold on the line against Paulo Costa next.
