"I was wrong" - Israel Adesanya admits mistake in calling Robert Whittaker 'mozzie' in light of Dricus Du Plessis' 'African' comments
Israel Adesanya has recalled a time when he questioned Robert Whittaker's heritage as a New Zealand-born fighter and apologized for it.
The middleweight champion is currently going back and forth with Dricus du Plessis who claims that there have been no 'real' African champions in the UFC yet.
Adesanya said:
"Funny enough someone brought to my attention that I did the same thing on Rob and I was just like true, I did because I called him a mozzie (Maori Australian). I was like f**k, they're right but guess what, I was wrong. That's called growth, I learned. How is this a black guy telling this f***ing Maori that nah you're not a f***ing true Kiwi...I can admit when I was wrong."
Israel Adesanya admits he made a mistake questioning Robert Whittaker's heritage and apologized for it. He is now infuriated with du Plessis who is doing the same, saying Adesanya is not a 'real' African champion since he does not live or train in Africa.
UFC champ Israel Adesanya admits he was wrong to question Robert Whittaker's Kiwi heritage in wake of Dricus Du Plessis controversy #UFC293 mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/08/ufc-29…
Take a look at the video (Quotes from 31:30 onwards):
Israel Adesanya says Dricus du Plessis does not want to fight him
Israel Adesanya stepped into the octagon after UFC 290 to size up Dricus du Plessis following his win. The pair trash talked inside the octagon and had to be pulled away. Even after the whole fiasco, du Plessis made it clear that he wanted to fight Adesanya next. However, in the same podcast with The Halfcast Podcast, 'The Last Stylebender' said the South African does not want the fight:
"Doesn't want to fight even after (UFC 290). He's like, 'oh, bro, all you had to do was put some gloves on, we could have got it on right there'. B****ass f*** you wouldn't have. Cause guess what? He didn't want it.... People were like, 'oh, he's so classy walking away. He's so classy.' I'm like, 'bro, he didn't even walk away. He felt me. He didn't wanna feel me."
Following his win against Robert Whittaker, the former middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis became the favorite for a title shot. With the ongoing 'beef' with Adesanya, fans thought that fight would be the only logical next move. However, there has been no confirmation yet by the UFC.
Israel Adesanya claims ‘b****’ Dricus Du Plessis ‘doesn’t want to fight’
Full story: mmafighting.com/2023/8/1/23813… pic.twitter.com/qD4p9gBmUO