Whittaker aims jabs at ‘big-mouth’ Adesanya
UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will consider moving up in weight to fight Jon Jones but is warning ‘‘big mouth’’ Israel Adesanya not to.
Adesanya set up a middleweight unification showdown with Whittaker when he defeated Kevin Gastelum in a fight-of-theyear contender to capture the UFC interim middleweight title at UFC 236 in Atlanta last weekend.
That trans-Tasman showdown between Whittaker and Adesanya will happen in Australia later this year but Jones – the UFC’s light-heavyweight champion – has been fuelling a contest with Adesanya on social media following the Kiwi fighter’s declaration that he was keen on the bout in the future.
Whittaker, who thinks he could give Jones ‘‘a run for his money’’, does not have the same confidence for Adesanya – aka The Last Stylebender.
‘‘I think Jon Jones would kill him. Yeah, I think it’s silly, but then Israel just kind of takes jabs and bites out of everyone, doesn’t he? Yeah, he’s got a big mouth,’’ Whittaker told Submission Radio.
Appearing on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN, Adesanya welcomed the ‘‘superfight’’ but said Jones would have to wait his turn.
‘‘Jon Jones literally reminds me of what I’ve hated most in life: bullies,’’ Adesanya said. ‘‘I don’t like bullies. I detest bullies. So he’s going to get this work. But not until I am ready to give him this work. I can fight him right now and give him work. But I want to fight him when I know I can f... him up.’’
UFC president Dana White suggested, in Atlanta last weekend, he would like to see a Jones-Adesanya fight in the future but not until after the Whittaker-Adesanya unification.
Jones is one of the most marketable names in the UFC and a fight with the winner of Whittaker-Adesanya would be hugely lucrative.
‘‘I’ll definitely move up, not down. But if he’s [Jon Jones] looking for opponents, that’s a fight, that’s a great fight,’’ Whittaker told Submission Radio.
‘‘I think I could just give him a run for his money. I surprise a lot of people and I’m full of tricks, and I think the intensity I bring into a fight is something that a lot of people aren’t prepared for. But he’s a great fighter, he’s super, super dangerous.
‘‘I’m under no illusion how hard it would
‘‘Nah, it won’t be a war. Not with me and him. It’s gonna be short and sweet, brother, trust me.’’ Robert Whittaker on his proposed right with Israel Adesanya
be, and yeah, I think it would be fun.’’
Whittaker, who was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia as a young child, was originally meant to fight Gastelum at UFC 234 in Melbourne in February but pulled out with a freak abdominal injury on the eve of the fight.
The unfortunate timing of the injury has provided a silver lining for the Whittaker-Adesanya bout with the contest now being a unification and already capturing the imagination of Australian and New Zealand sports fans outside of the UFC faithful.
Whittaker is oozing confidence for the Adesanya fight and does not predict it will be a five-round war similar to Adesanya’s unanimous decision victory over Gastelum.
‘‘Nah, it won’t be a war. Not with me and him. It’s gonna be short and sweet, brother, trust me,’’ he said.
‘‘Oh I guarantee you, I guarantee you. ‘‘Now, I’m not saying that Adesanya is an easy fight for me. I think stylistically he matches up much better with my own style. Stylistically, I always wanted to fight Adesanya,’’ Whittaker told Submission Radio.
Whittaker believes the Gastelum fight highlighted, what he has previously said, that Adesanya isn’t as good as he thinks he is.
‘‘I feel that that fight showed exactly what I’ve been saying the whole time.
‘‘I think he’s great, but he doesn’t like getting hit, he doesn’t look great going backwards, and I just don’t think he’s as good as he thinks he is. And if Gastelum can hit and hurt him, I can hit and hurt him.’’