3 UFC fighters blast Adesanya for 'just standing' in victory against Whittaker

Nigerian-born, New Zealand-based professional mixed martial artist Israel Adesanya has been criticized for retaining his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight belt.

Adesanya recorded a unanimous decision victory against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271.

The 32-year-old was unable to repeat the knockout victory in the first fight.

After the fight at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas Adesanya stated that Whittakers' tactics were responsible for the boring affair.

He said, “I knew he was going to try and copy Jan [Blachowicz’s] homework.

“But I’m the big dog in this yard so he couldn’t take me down at all.”

The performance by Adesanya brought about reactions from several UFC fighters.

Three stars in the UFC were of the opinion that Adesanya should not have won and took to Twitter to give their opinions.

Khamzat Chimaev said, "@stylebender easy money for me, 0 wrestling. 1 round I’m gonna kill him🤪

Michael Chandler was more critical in his opinion stating that Adesanya was not aggressive.

He said, "Trust me, I love Izzy. But we have gotten to a point where a dominant champ just needs to stand there, throw a few shots per round and he will not lose unless he gets caught&he will always get the nod. Izzy got paid on this last contract...go FIGHT, don’t you dare spar. #UFC271."

Justin Gaethje on the other hand stated the rounds that Whittaker won.

He said, "Whittaker took 3,4,5 #UFC271."

With Adesanya victorious against Whittaker on two occasions, it is unlikely there is a third fight between two of the best in the UFC Middleweight class.