"Go touch some grass" - Israel Adesanya backtracks after reaction to Alex Pereira's comments sparks injury rumors

Israel Adesanya recently clarified his initial response to Alex Pereira's remarks about the former's performance at UFC 305. Pereira hinted that Adesanya could potentially have carried an injury into his bout against Dricus du Plessis, prompting a reaction from 'The Last Stylebender'.

Following a year-long hiatus, Adesanya returned to the octagon in a highly anticipated middleweight title fight against du Plessis at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, earlier this month. 'Stillknocks' defeated the Nigerian-born Kiwi via a fourth-round submission to retain his title.

Following the fight, Pereira uploaded a video on his YouTube channel in reaction to Adesanya's loss. 'Poatan' stated that his former foe might've been injured owing to his lack of low kicks:

''I don't know how Adesanya was... Maybe Adesanya had an injury, I don't know. You could see he kicked very little.''

Pereira commended Adesanya's low kick and was surprised to see the former two-time champion use it so sporadically. He added:

''Things I saw, that inside kick of Adesanya is very good. Not everyone can do that, but he can do it very well. It was a good weapon, and he didn't continue doing that inside kick. Even Dricus said it bothered him, also bothered me. I said it before for the people who asked me. He didn't continue to do it. When he is only throwing hands, I think it's easier for the opponent to protect themselves, or to get out."

Adesanya then reacted on X, hinting that there's some truth to Pereira's comments:

"It’s weird how this guy knows me…it’s like we’ve spent hours studying eachother’s moves and fought multiple times or sumn’. I mean that.''

This led to widespread speculation from fans that 'The Last Stylebnder' was compromised going into the fight, prompting him to later add:

''I just said “he knows my style.” Go touch some grass please…''

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Robert Whittaker discusses Israel Adesanya's loss at UFC 305

Israel Adesanya's hopes of becoming a three-time champion were dashed by Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305. Robert Whittaker, who has shared the cage with both middleweights, recently shared his take on the fight.

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Whittaker praised Adesanya's performance despite the latter coming out on the losing end:

''I thought Adesanya looked spectacular. This is probably the best version we saw of him. He was very effective he looked in his groove he was landing big shots. But man DDP [Dricus du Plessis] is one of those guys that honestly If you don’t kill him he’s going to win the fight.”

Check out Robert Whittaker's comments below (2:07):