What did Robert Whittaker say about Israel Adesanya on Joe Rogan?

Robert Whittaker said his rematch with Israel Adesanya, which came after a knockout loss, was very close. He believes he might have won it if judges still rewarded takedowns the way they used to. He said Adesanya caught him in that fight with a left straight thrown after switching stance, and that the switch threw him off. Whittaker called Adesanya a good friend now, while joking about his anime-style antics.

Whittaker said he can fight southpaw, but his defence from that stance is nowhere near as good as from orthodox.
The pair discussed Adesanya's departure from City Kickboxing, and Whittaker said he will keep training there because he has a good relationship with the gym.

▸In their words

“In that second fight with Izzy, he got me with a switch left straight down the pipe.” Robert Whittaker · at 2:05:16 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Joe Rogan Experience (2026-10-22). Read the whole episode summary →

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