Watch: Robert Whittaker left shell-shocked after watching Alex Pereira finish Israel Adesanya at UFC 281

Robert Whittaker was flabbergasted watching his former rival Israel Adesanya go down against Alex Pereira at UFC 281. The former UFC middleweight champion was left open-mouthed when 'Poatan' pulled off an incredible come-from-behind victory this past Saturday night.

Going into the fifth round of their main event clash at UFC 281, Adesanya was seemingly ahead on the scorecards. 'The Last Stylebender' presumably would have gotten his hands raised if the fight went the distance, but the Brazilian rallied from behind to spoil Adesanya's plans for a sixth successful title defense.

Pereira was crowned the undisputed UFC middleweight champion via TKO in the fifth round.

There's a new king in the middleweight division 👑 #UFC281 https://t.co/Ts5Wsjwd0n

Robert Whittaker was part of the UFC 281 Watch Along alongside inaugural UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver. Pulver was thoroughly invested in the blockbuster clash and couldn't contain his excitement when Pereira hurt Adesanya on the feet:

"Oh! Big shots. Here goes Pereira. Oh! Izzy's out on his feet. He's out on his feet. he hits too hard. Down he goes. Pereira's bombing. Izzy's out on his feet and it's done."

Whittaker was clearly astounded, which was apparent from his immediate reaction in the closing moments of the fight.

Watch the clip below:

Robert Whittaker on Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira stoppage

Several sections of the MMA community hold the opinion that the fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira was prematurely stopped. Adesanya was still on his feet when the referee intervened to call an end to the fight.

'The Last Stylebender' addressed the stoppage in the post-fight media presser, claiming that he would have been fine and he's seen worse stoppages. Adesanya has also amusingly started a petition to bring controversial MMA referee Steve Mazzagatti back.

Petition to bring back #stevemazagatti #nowhookemupcmon #ifhedieshedies #hestillbreathing https://t.co/Xp3I2ExK0O

Reacting to the stoppage in the aforementioned live stream, Robert Whittaker claimed that the referee did the right thing by stepping in while simultaneously praising Adesanya's grit:

"He [Israel Adesanya] was done. He was cooked. Got to give it to him. His chin, like he took so many monstrous shots but was still standing."

Watch the full stream below: