Robert Whittaker comments on his people supporting Sean Strickland over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in Sydney.
During fight week, it was a slight surprise to see Strickland get the backing from the Australian fans as he was essentially fighting in enemy territory, with the then-champion hailing from New Zealand. Everywhere Strickland went, he was greeted with support from the locals, and during the pre-fight press conference, he garnered the most cheers from the crowd.
Despite this shocking some, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker understood the Aussie’s love for Strickland as opposed to Adesanya:
Robert Whittaker on Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya
“No, I would’ve been surprised the other way,” Whittaker said on The MMA Hour, laughing. “I don’t know, and everybody knows I’m not friends with Izzy. I don’t hate the guy, but I’m not friends with him by any means. We just rub each other the wrong way. And he seems to rub a lot of people the wrong way. And I’m going to say, Sean, you know, he was wearing the [Crocodile Dundee] hat. He was wearing the hat. That’s something. Maybe that’s all it takes.”
“Everyone has done silly things, you know? I guess Sean’s been, I think, very offensive to a lot of people right? But not to us [in Australia] yet,” Whittaker added with another chuckle. “Maybe we’ve been out of the crosshairs a little bit, so maybe that played a role. But another thing is, like, the fans and the guys that showed up on Sunday [at UFC 293], they like seeing hard fights and they like seeing good fights. Sean went out there and gave his all and had one of the biggest upsets in the middleweight division.”
Alongside capturing the support of the fans in Sydney, the American attained the UFC middleweight championship in an unthinkable fashion. He outstroke, out-performed, and dominated the fight over 25 minutes. The result was one of the biggest upsets in the promotion’s history. With Adesanya being dethroned for a second time, the division is blown wide-open, giving hope to the next contenders.
Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis Rivalry
Despite the result motivating many, it closed the door on a fight that was brewing between Dricus Du Plessis and Adesanya. An ugly affair that had months of back-and-forth. The rivalry began because the pair claimed neither was a rightful African-born UFC athlete. Whittaker was amused by this entire debate for one reason: the build-up to their first fight in 2019 at UFC 243.
“I always thought that was funny, like the debate on where people are from with Dricus and Izzy. I was sitting here like, what?” Whittaker said. “You know what I mean? But I also saw Izzy said sorry about that as well, like he shouldn’t have done that. And I accept his apology, and you’re right, you shouldn’t do things like that. You should leave that sort of stuff out of the business. We’re in here fighting for living, we’re modern day warriors. We don’t need to conduct ourselves like that. I think you can be proud of representing wherever you want, as long as it’s your home soil and you’re proud to do so and you do so properly.
“That’s the thing with how you conduct yourself, because don’t think for an instant — and this is to all the fighters on the weekend — don’t think for an instant that you can say something today, and then 10 years down the track, it’s not going to come up. Oh, it’ll come up. It’s always there, especially in today’s day and age, with recordings and everything else. You know there’s someone behind the computer screen that hates your guts and he’s saved that clip or that short, and he’s going to throw it in your face when you make something, when you’re a big enough name for it to hurt. It’s there. That’s why you’ve got to conduct yourself professionally. We’re professionals, we’re athletes, we get paid for this. Do so professionally.”
Like Attracts Like
Prior to losing to Du Plessis at UFC 290, Whittaker had only been beaten by Adesanya at middleweight, accumulating twelve wins, with only two defeats. Now standing at 12-3 in the middleweight division, Whittaker is excited for his next challenge. Although Whittaker and Adesanya have both tasted defeat in their latest outings, both fighters have been shown a different reaction from the fans.
“I would have to say 99 percent of that was just love and support [after my loss], but you’ve got to understand as well, it’s not something that just popped up,” Whittaker said. “It’s because I have been honest in the way I’ve conducted myself since day one.
“They support me for who I am, not for just what I do. And yeah, I’ve got to say that I would have to have the best fans in the world, because of their support. I saw a lot of Izzy’s fans and just comments and stuff like that, and hey, like attracts like. If you act a certain way, you’re going to attract certain people. I’m very proud of the people that have flocked to me, that have come and supported me.”
Quotes via MMA Fighting
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Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
