Israel Adesanya hellbent on teaching Robert Whittaker another lesson ahead of UFC 271 rematch

UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya has justified his criticism of former middleweight king Robert Whittaker before their last fight after the Australian admitted that his pride got the better of him after his awful defeat at the hands of The Style bender back in 2019.

Whittaker suffered a second-round knock-out loss to Adesanya at UFC 243 in Melbourne's Marvel Stadium but actually, made no excuses for coming up short against The Stylebender.

Adesanya felt The Reaper wasn't being true to himself before their match, even going ahead to brand him as 'fake'.

 "It was his ego, but I called it from [before] the fight.

"I said, 'He's acting out of character' and I said also, 'He's not being himself.'

And people were like, 'Oh, he's such a good guy. He's such a good (this and that). And I'm like, 'He's a d***head. You guys just don't see it.'

"And now he's admitted that it was his ego that got the best of him.

And I'm like, 'Well I told you so.' You should've listened to me, listen to your dad.", Adesanya told Sun Sport.

Asked about the possibility of overlooking his rival, Adesanya said: "That's not been the case this time.

"It's actually made me more motivated to do it again and do it more decisively if that's even possible. Which it is, I believe so."

"That's what's my motivation for this fight, that's what got me up for this fight.

"Was to do it again in a more devastating fashion."

Adesanya who is also a fan-favourite in the sports has always been known for his pre-fight comments but only this time, he's more than prepared to teach the 31-year-old Whittaker another severe lesson ahead of his second showdown with the Australian, who has won his last three matches on the bounce.

Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker are set to renew their rivalry on February 12 at UFC 271 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States.