‘Poison in my heart’: Adesanya makes final call on Whittaker trilogy; explains viral ‘Matcha mix-up moment’

After a bitter rivalry which spawned two cracking UFC bouts, Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker have become an unlikely pair of mates – even if a cup of coffee threatened to ruin it all.

Israel Adesanya says he’ll never fight Robert Whittaker again, as he revealed more details of the “beautiful” moments the former bitter rivals spent with one another in Auckland earlier this month.

Adesanya – who fights Nassourdine Imavov in Saudi Arabia next weekend – boasts two title fight wins over Whittaker, including a fiery 2019 showdown in front of the largest crowd in UFC history at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.

There were ugly moments in that build up though, with Adesanya questioning the New Zealand-born, Sydney-raised Whittaker’s identity.

That’s when their rivalry spilled over from the Octagon to life more generally.

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“It was crazy how much that affected me,” Whittaker, who has Maori heritage, told this masthead later. “I’ve always been outspoken about my heritage and how proud I am of the blood that runs through my veins.

“Long story short, it hurt. It was very upsetting.”

Whittaker leaves the Octagon after his first loss to Adesanya in 2019. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

The normally laidback Aussie was knocked out inside two rounds, lost the middleweight title, and battled emotionally for a couple of months.

At one point he even considered stepping away from the sport altogether.

All of which makes his budding bromance with Adesanya this year even more incredible.

Whittaker flew to Auckland with coach Alex Prates and training partner Jacob Malkoun, and spent nearly a week training at Adesanya’s City Kickboxing gym.

They also filmed a half hour long video for Adesanya’s YouTube channel as the Kiwi put the finishing touches on his fight camp.

“We caught up a little bit at my house while filming, but I’m very tight with time at this point in camp,” Adesanya told this masthead. “I’m sure I’ll see him in Sydney at UFC 312 and we’ll have a couple of Brewskis and a catch up.

“I just loved having the guy, and his energy, around.

“He’s such a stand-up guy. Cool dude, and funny as hell. He doesn’t even try sometimes – he’s just funny.”

The pair embrace after their brilliant second title fight. Picture: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

Case in point: Six minutes into their sit down on YouTube, Whittaker is handed a cup of coffee.

Or, what he thinks is going to be a coffee.

The Reaper looks into his cup, does a double take, and looks again.

“This coffee’s green,” he deadpans. “Just a heads up.

“I don’t know if you guys have lured me here to finally get of me…”

Meanwhile Adesanya cracks up, explaining it’s a cup of matcha, and the clip went viral on social media.

“Every time it cracks me up,” Adesanya says now. “Aussies…I cracked up, bro.

“I had to say, ‘Matcha’s got caffeine in it’.”

Despite the history of bad blood, Adesanya says he always thought he’d get along with Whittaker if they ever had the chance to hang out.

“Even when we were rivals, there was still respect there,” he says. “There were things he said about me as well that were kind of funny as well.

“But I can’t hold onto that kind of poison in my heart for someone when it doesn’t serve me anymore.

“So, I’m just glad to be rid of that and put it into something that’s useful.”

Adesanya also admits he went too far in some of his pre-fight taunts back in 2019.

“I realised, ‘Why would I question him as a Maori?’ That was silly,” he says. “Once it happened to me, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, true’.

“I’m a person that, if you give me new information, or you present me with something that makes sense, I can change my mind.

“And that’s okay.

Whittaker and Adesanya at City Kickboxing in Auckland. Picture: Instagram

“It’s called growth. So, yeah, I learned that when I fought him for a second time.”

And they both agree there won’t be a third fight.

“I don’t think there’s a need for it,” Adesanya said. “We’re past that in our careers now.

“When we’re in the gym now, in round seven, round 10, he’s good. He’s really good.

“He’s still got it, even though he’s not really even in camp right now, he’s still sharp.

“It’s something I can appreciate now, just bouncing ideas off him and now I have him as a friend and an ally in my corner.

“I always say, ANZAC united when we’re not fighting each other. We’re from this side of the world where MMA wasn’t really the most popular thing, and look what we’ve done.”

Originally published as ‘Poison in my heart’: Adesanya makes final call on Whittaker trilogy; explains viral ‘Matcha mix-up moment’