' People just have low standards' Israel Adesanya unimpressed by next opponent

Adesanya and Whittaker will compete in a middleweight championship bout at the Toyota Center in Houston on Sunday.

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker lost his title to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 back in 2019. Since that defeat, the New Zealander has roared back to capture three straight wins to secure a fight against his old foe.

Despite Whittaker's improvements, Adesanya does not believe his opponent is worth the hype.

"He improved, yes, but not to the point where people have blown it up to be. I think maybe people just have low standards, that’s all." Adesanya said.

"He played the game very well against all three opponents, I feel. At the same time, you put those three guys together, they don’t amount to me.

"So like I said, I was not impressed by his performance," the middleweight champion said.

This is not the first time Adesanya has called out his opponent in the weeks leading up to the fight. 

"Last time he said, Kevin Gastelum has given the blueprint on how to beat Adesanya, he needs to write his blueprint.

"If he wants to copy someone else's work, then, by all means, try, because it went so well last time for him when we fought," Adesanya said.

Adesanya's head coach Eugene Bareman feels the fight might last longer than their first bout, but The Last Stylebender believes it will go down the same route.

"Once he feels what he felt last time, he won't know where to turn," Adesanya ominously said.