Watch: When Robert Whittaker hilariously responded to people who think MMA is too brutal
Robert Whittaker knows very well that MMA isn't a sport for the faint-hearted and had the perfect response to people who find it too brutal. Ahead of his title fight with Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 back in 2019, Whittaker was asked to respond to people who are disturbed by the sport's brutality.
Whittaker had a response that left everyone in splits, including his then opponent Adesanya. 'The Reaper' simply said, "Watch rugby," insinuating that there's much less violence involved in other sports and people who can't bear the action in MMA should take to other sports.
Check out Robert Whittaker's response in the video below:
Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya squared off in the main event of UFC 243 in front of 'The Reaper's' home crowd at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The night, however, belonged to 'The Last Stylebender'. Adesanya sent shockwaves through the stadium by knocking Whittaker out cold in the second round, becoming the new middleweight champ.
One year ago today, Israel Adesanya finished Robert Whittaker to become the UFC middleweight champion
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Robert Whittaker bounced back from disappointing title fight loss to earn a shot at redemption
Following the defeat, Robert Whittaker was quick to get back on the horse, picking up three straight wins against Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum. Whittaker has earned another shot at redemption as he is now scheduled to run it back with Adesanya in the UFC 271 headliner in February 2022.
Israel Adesanya x Robert Whittaker 2 is official for Feb. 12 in Houston, per the broadcast.
In an interview with Wide World of Sports' Matt Bungard, Whittaker revealed how the loss to Adesanya was a catalyst for him to self-introspect before embarking on the quest for glory.
"The loss to Izzy [Adesanya] was the catalyst for me to take some time away from the game, do a little soul-searching and find those reasons why," Whittaker said.
Adesanya, on the other hand, continues to dominate the middleweight division with an iron fist and will be looking to establish himself as one of the greatest 185ers of all time by pulling a double on Whittaker.