Israel Adesanya recently came forward to admit his previous mistake in questioning Robert Whittaker’s Kiwi heritage. The current middleweight champion reflected on his past remarks and apologised for his behavior.
Previously, Israel Adesanya referred to Robert Whittaker as a ‘mozzie,’ raising doubts about Whittaker’s New Zealand origins as he represented Australia.
At UFC 290, Dricus Du Plessis (20-2 MMA) recently beat Robert Whittaker (24-7 MMA) in a middleweight contest. Du Plessis said that he was on his way to become the first real African champion.
Israel Adesanya has chosen to acknowledge that his decision to cast doubt on Whittaker’s ancestry was wrong. He also believes that Du Plessis should also recognize his mistake in making such claims.
During an appearance on ‘The Halfcast Podcast,’ Adesanya admitted his mistake. He expressed genuine remorse for his past actions, recognizing that he had no right to question Whittaker’s heritage.
He said: “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.”
He continued: “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.”
As the current middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya is preparing to defend his title at UFC 293. The event is scheduled for September 9th in Sydney, Australia. Although his opponent has yet to be confirmed, it was assumed that Dricus Du Plessis would be considered for the title shot following his victory against Whittaker.
Regarding that matchup, Adesanya stated: “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.”
Adesanya didn’t hold back in expressing his thoughts. He concluded by saying that Dricus Du Plessis was too scared to even call him out.
He 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.”