"If I could have hit him with a car I would have" - Robert Whittaker reacts to "surreal" friendship with Israel Adesanya after years of bitter rivalry

Robert Whittaker recently opened up on his relationship with Israel Adesanya, citing their transition from rivals to friends. Whittaker spoke about how Adesanya invited him into his house and then jokingly commented about once wishing to harm the Nigerian-born Kiwi.

Whittaker and Adesanya broke down the fights at UFC 311 this past weekend in a series of videos shared on the 35-year-old's YouTube channel. Overall, it was a beautiful moment as Whittaker and Adesanya relived their previous octagon experiences and sparred in preparation for their next fights.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The Ariel Helwani Show, Whittaker detailed his friendship with Adesanya, saying:

''Izzy himself, he was probably the most receptive of everybody there. He was really open to the idea. I think we’re both just in good places in our careers right now...Yeah, I had that thought of [wow], when I was walking into his house. When I was walking into his house and sat on his couch he asked me if I wanted anything to eat.''

Whittaker continued:

''I was like ‘Where am I right now?’, how did we get here? It was kind of surreal… We kind of like being rivals as well. That kind of rivalry, it just set the stage for a long leg between me and Izzy. It was good to kind of, hash that out. I wouldn’t say it was personal. But, I’m pretty sure in 2019 if I could’ve hit him with a car, I would have. Like, not kill him, but a little bump. You know what I mean?”

Check out Robert Whittaker's comments below:

In their first encounter at UFC 243, Adesanya became the undisputed champion after knocking out Whittaker in the second round. Their rematch took place at UFC 271.

However, this time, the fight went to the distance, as Adesanya prevailed via unanimous decision to make his fourth title defense.

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Robert Whittaker expresses disappointment with Daniel Cormier for sharing picture of his injured mouth

Robert Whittaker wasn't happy when Daniel Cormier posted the picture of his injured mouth online. For context, Whittaker's jaw was injured due to Khamzat Chimaev's tight choke at UFC 308, which saw the Australian tap in the opening round.

Following this, Cormier showed an image of his wounded mouth during the post-fight analysis. In the aforementioned conversation with Ariel Helwani, Whittaker criticized Cormier, saying:

''I was super annoyed. It’s such a scummy thing to do. It’s like, the doctor took a photo of my mouth and said he was going to go show Dana [White]. So, that he knows what’s up. I thought, ‘Cool, do that'. DC took a photo off the other guy’s phone to post all of his socials. Is that not scummy?''

Check out Robert Whittaker's comments below: