Robert Whittaker praises Israel Adesanya‘s bow-and-arrow celebration at UFC 287 but criticizes his petty retort to Pereira’s son.
Robert Whittaker commended Israel Adesanya for his iconic celebration at UFC 287, at least the first half of it. Whittaker approved of the imaginary bow-and-arrow shots Adesanya used after knocking out Pereira to reclaim the UFC middleweight title. However, he couldn’t support Adesanya’s response to Pereira’s son, who had imitated Adesanya’s knockout loss to Pereira in the kickboxing ring five years ago.
“I thought the bow and arrow bit was really, really cool,” Whittaker said on The MMA Hour. “You’ve got to give it to him. But I thought that other bit with Pereira’s son was a bit petty. And he admits that he’s a petty dude. He’s a petty dude. But dude, you can’t hold a grudge on 5-year-olds. If I held a grudge with every 5-year-old that pissed me off, I’d be fighting for the next 40 years of my life.” Adesanya admitted he was not being his best self when he involved Pereira’s family. Pereira had held back his son when he won the middleweight title from Adesanya via TKO at UFC 281 and disapproved of the revenge gesture.
MMA observers were both amused and slightly uncomfortable at the lengths Adesanya would go to in order to return a slight. Whittaker, a father of four, is well-versed in how children act out as they grow up and warned others not to see Adesanya as a role model in this regard. “He said he’s petty, so he admitted it with such energy, right? To everybody listening and watching, that doesn’t make it a good thing, OK?” Whittaker said. “Don’t get confused, just because he does it and admits it like a champ, that it’s a good thing. Don’t be petty. It’s not good.”
Whittaker hopes to face Adesanya for a third time after two previous losses to the Nigerian native. He might have a chance, as UFC President Dana White revealed that Whittaker will face Dricus Du Plessis in a title eliminator fight at July’s UFC 290 event. The winner could potentially face Adesanya later in the year, possibly in Sydney, Australia.