Israel Adesanya says Robert Whittaker should be stripped of UFC title
Israel Adesanya woke up last Saturday morning with the understanding that if he won that evening at UFC 234, his next fight would be for the middleweight championship against the winner of the main event. Several dramatic twists and turns later, the unbeaten 29-year-old still believes he is due a title fight, but he now he thinks it should be for a vacant belt.
Adesanya (16-0) is calling for Robert Whittaker to be stripped of the 185-pound belt after pulling out of his title defense against Kelvin Gastelum.
Whittaker was hospitalized just hours before the fight card in Melbourne, Australia, was set to get underway. He underwent surgery that night for a hernia and a collapsed bowel. Adesanya, meanwhile, defeated Anderson Silva in a fight that was to be the co-main event but was moved up to the top of the marquee at Rod Laver Arena.
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UFC president Dana White had billed Adesanya vs. Silva as a No. 1 contender showdown.
“This is not the first time that Robert has had to pull out or been on the sideline due to injury,” Adesanya said during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, referring to the fact that Whittaker also pulled out of a scheduled defense a year ago because of a staph infection in his stomach. “They won’t do it, I don’t think so, but legitimately, just take the title off him, and me and Kelvin fight for the belt.”
Adesanya, a native of Nigeria who has lived in New Zealand since his early teens, is not alone in this sentiment. On Saturday night, Gastelum showed up at the fights with a UFC belt slung over his shoulder and declaring himself champion.
“In my world, in the wrestling world, what I grew up in, if a guy shows up, makes the weight and for whatever reason can’t continue on in the competition, that’s a forfeit,” he told ESPN. “Automatically, that makes me the champion.”
While White dismissed Gastelum carrying around a belt as “cute,” the UFC president was noncommittal on the immediate future for those at the top of the middleweight mountain.
“He’s being ambiguous,” Adesanya said. “Fair enough. That whole f—ing thing just threw a big monkey wrench into everything.”
One possible solution, should Whittaker need extended recovery time, would be for Adesanya and Gastelum to fight for an interim title.
“I’m down,” Adesanya said. “But f— ‘interim.’ Let’s fight for the real belt. When Robert is ready, he can come see me.”
And if Whittaker heals soon enough, Adesanya would be up for that Australia vs. New Zealand championship matchup right away.
“I don’t care if it’s Rob. I don’t care if it’s Kelvin,” he said. “All I know is I’m fighting for the UFC middleweight title in my next fight.”