Robert Whittaker Slams Israel Adesanya for Mocking Alex Pereira’s Son After UFC Win

• Robert Whittaker has taken issue with Israel Adesanya taunting Alex Pereira's son after his latest win
• Adesanya exacted his revenge on the 12-year-old after he beat his father on the fourth time of asking
• Whittaker has also indicated that he is ready to challenge Adesanya for the title

Israel Adesanya has continued to attract criticism with how he celebrated after he reclaimed his UFC middleweight title less than a fortnight ago.

Adesanya beat Alex Pereira in Miami on April 8 to assert his authority in the category, months after he had lost the title to the Brazilian.

Much of the celebration was centred on Adesanya taunting Pereira's 12-year-old son. The Nigerian-born New Zealander fighter pointed to him and fell to the ground as soon as he was declared the winner.

He later admitted that it was payback for what Pereira's son did to him in 2017 during his kickboxing days. Pereira had just defeated Adesanya and his son, took cue from that by falling next to Adesanya.

All you need to know about UFC 287: Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya 2 headlines main card

UFC

Fellow fighter Robert Whittaker has now jumped into the conversation calling out Adesanya for dragging out his beef with a young person.

"He admitted it himself, he’s a petty dude. But dude, you can’t hold a grudge against five-year-olds. If I held a grudge with every five-year-old that pissed me off, I’d be fighting for the next 40 years of my life," said Whittaker in an interview with MMA Hour.

Don’t get confused. Just because he does it and admits it like a champ doesn’t mean it’s a good thing - don’t be petty."

Whittaker vs Adesanya 2?

The Australian also expressed his intentions of taking on the Last Stylebender for the middleweight title.

"’m in this game and he’s got the belt and I want to win. I want to take that from him. I’m going to beat him."

Erik Ten Hag boldly explains how Premier League schedule led to Marcus Rashford's injury

Football

Adesanya won the first contest between the two via a unanimous decision in a match held in Houston in May last year.

Du Plessis fight vs Adesanya

Sports Brief has also reported that Chael Sonnen believes that Israel Adesanya should fight a new opponent during his next bout.

The UFC legend has weighed in on The Last Stylebender’s future opponent and has pitched that South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis should be next in line.

Sonnen made the comments while shooting down the idea of Robert Whittaker taking on the Nigerian-born New Zealander for a third time.

Whittaker is top of the rankings to take on Adesanya next, while du Plessis is currently ranked sixth.