“A lot of people tell me that fighting Robert Whittaker is not the smartest move, and I agree with them one hundred percent,” the South African told Submission Radio. “I agree it’s not the smartest move, but I’m not here to be smart. Otherwise, I would have stayed in school, finished my studies, gone to work in a bank, went to work in a suit every day and led a corporate life. But this is not the life I chose. I decided to be a warrior, I am a fighter. This is what I do – I fight”
“I don’t want to get a title shot because of the hype, just because the guy who owns the championship belt acts like a little child and overreacts to everything. I want to earn my title shot – I don’t want it handed to me on a silver platter. I’m going to win my belt and that’s why I want to fight Whittaker.”
“Any middleweight that has found a way to get a title shot without a Robert Whittaker fight is definitely a good guy. Marvin Vettori fought Whittaker after the title fight. Paulo Costa made sure not to fight Whittaker. Alex Pereira didn’t have to fight Whittaker. None of them fought Whittaker before fighting for the belt because everyone knew he would beat them. Everyone in the UFC knows that Whittaker is the champion in a universe without Adesanya.”
Recall that the middleweight contender fight will take place on July 8 at UFC 290 in Las Vegas, and its winner will challenge Israel Adesanya on September 10 at UFC 293 in Sydney.