Robert Whittaker defends Isreal Adesanya: Winning is the most important thing

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Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has come under heavy criticism for the unattractiveness of the fights after his last few appearances. He felt that he was just playing it safe, that he was only throwing that 'low kick', and that he was the most boring champion in the UFC.

Whether you agree with it or not, the fact is that for now that style works perfectly and no one has yet found a solution for it, at least not in the middleweight division. Robert Whittaker has already lost twice to Adesanya.

The first time in 2019 at the UFC 243 event when the champion knocked him out in the second round, and the second time at the beginning of this year when Adesanya won by unanimous decision. The champion himself has said several times that the way someone wins is not important and that in the end, people will only remember the number of title defenses, and Whittaker himself agrees with that.

Robert Whittaker

“I’m pretty sure he’s just paid to win,” Whittaker said at the UFC Paris post-fight press conference. “You know, that’s the most important thing whether it’s boring or not.

You can have the most exciting fight of the night, if you lose, no one is talking about you tomorrow. As cold as it sounds, winning is all that matters. “If I could just take someone down, and hold them down until someone took them home, I would,” he laughed.

“Love my fans, but I would happily hug someone on the ground for 25 minutes if that gets me the W. That’s the sport we’re in”. Whittaker (25-6) meanwhile, hopes to fight the winner as he looks to reclaim the belt he lost to Adesanya in October 2019 via second-round knockout in Melbourne.

Whittaker defeated Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision last weekend to cement his position as the number one challenger, and what's next for him remains to be seen.