Interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya wasn’t too intimidated by Robert Whittaker during their staredown during Friday’s summer news conference.
On Friday, the UFC officially announced the middleweight title bout between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya. The two men are set to fight for the undisputed 185-pound strap at UFC 243 on October 6th.
Whittaker and Adesanya got to square off during the summer news press conference. From his end “The Last Stylebender” says he wasn’t too intimidated by the champion.
“At the staredown, he just reminded me of like a meth head,” Adesanya told MMA Junkie. “When you look into someone’s eyes and you’re just like, yeah, and I’m looking at him like OK, cool. He’s a guy, he’s been here, he’s tough, he’s a vet in this game, so I don’t have to try and get under his skin.
“He’s not under my skin, and he says he doesn’t think about me, and I don’t want him to,” he continued. “I don’t expect him to. My coaches think about him a lot, though, and we’re going to devise a beautiful strategy to take him off.”
No official venue has been finalized just yet, but reports claim it is being planned for the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, a 55,000-seater arena.