UFC 243 News: Israel Adesanya opens up on Robert Whittaker fight possibly getting cancelled, Paulo Costa being a distraction
The undefeated Israel Adesanya is one win away from becoming the undisputed king of the Middleweight division. The Interim Middleweight Champion will have to beat Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC 243 to live up to all the hype that has surrounded the exciting New Zealander since signing up with the UFC.
The Last Stylebender interacted with the press before the highly-anticipated event and he was asked about whether he had his doubts about the fight going through, especially considering Whittaker's history of pulling out of fights due to injuries.
Adesanya claimed that he wasn't thinking about the fight possibly getting scrapped yet again.
"I’ve kind of put it out of my mind leading up to it but the last fight, you know, he pulled out on the day of the fight so until we're locked in that cage, I’m not going to hold my breath."
Adesanya was asked about #2 ranked Paulo Costa, who has not shied away from taking shots at the Interim Middleweight Champion.
The bad blood between Costa and Adesanya is quite evident as both have not had particularly nice things to say about each other.
Costa will be present at ringside at UFC 243 and he will surely stake a claim at the title after Adesanya and Whittaker are done with each other.
Adesanya isn't defocusing from the task at hand which is to beat Robert Whittaker. He is least interested in Costa being in attendance at UFC 243 and knows that he has a job to do once he's locked inside the Octagon with Whittaker.
"Nothing gets in. I’m not even focused on him at the moment. I know I’m going to face him afterwards but, yes, he can try all he wants. Anyone can try, people have tried in the past to try and get at me during Fight Week but look how I show out. So yes, it doesn’t really make a difference if he's cage-side, if he's the referee, at the end of the day I have a tough task ahead of me so that’s what I’m focused on right now."
Adesanya has not tasted defeat in 17 fights and he will put his spotless record on the line against Whittaker inside the Marvel Stadium.
What are your predictions for the fight? Sound off in the comments section below:
Live and Exclusive in India on 6th October 2019 from 07:30 am (IST) on SONY TEN 2 & SONY TEN 2 HD and SONY TEN 3 & SONY TEN 3 HD (Hindi) channels.