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Robert Whittaker's ancestry as a fighter born in New Zealand was once questioned by Israel Adesanya back in 2019, who has now apologized for it.
The middleweight champion and Dricus du Plessis are at odds right now about the fact that there haven't been any'real' African champions in the UFC yet.
But going back to the time when Adesanya dissed Whittaker in similar fashion the Champ said
“Funny enough, someone brought it to my attention that I did the same thing to Rob,” Adesanya said on The Halfcast Podcast. “And I was like, ‘True, I did, because I called him a mozzie.’ And I was like, ‘F*ck, they’re right.’ But guess what? I was wrong. That’s called growth. I learned. I realized that’s – how’s this, a black guy, telling this f*cking Maori that, ‘Nah, you’re not a f*cking true Kiwi because you live in Australia.’ That’s stupid. So again, this is called growth.
Israel Adesanya has apologised for his error in questioning Robert Whittaker's ancestry. He is now enraged by du Plessis for making the same claim that Adesanya is not a "real" African champion since he does not reside in Africa or train there.
He is also annoyed by the face that he won't be facing Dricus Du Plesis at UFC 293 which takes place in Sydney in Septmeber. The most obvious choice for Adesanya would be Sean Strickland but negotiations are still on going because the American wants to get paid more for a title fight.