Israel Adesanya insisted it takes "two to tango" after his points victory over Yoel Romero, whose performance in the co-main event at UFC 248 did not impress Dana White.
Adesanya successfully defended his UFC middleweight title as he won by unanimous decision in Las Vegas, though the fight failed to catch fire as a spectacle.
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The Nigerian-born, New Zealand-based fighter landed leg kicks throughout to get the nod from all three judges, though he was quick to criticise his 42-year-old opponent in the aftermath for his unwillingness to engage.
"I was hoping he would be more like my opponents of the past," Adesanya - who improves to 19-0 - told ESPN.
"Kelvin [Gastelum] and Robert [Whittaker] actually brought the fight, even Anderson [Silva] – a counter-fighter – he still brought the fight, and he's the same age as him [Romero].
"I don't know what his excuse is – he can think he won that fight but you didn't do nothing, boy.
"It takes two to tango. I'm the one probing, trying to draw reactions. For me, I was pressing the action."
Still the king. #UFC248 pic.twitter.com/nb4AD6ZwPN
— UFC (@ufc) March 8, 2020
Romero has now lost four of his last five outings but believed he had done enough to take the belt and end Adesanya's unbeaten run, despite his defensive strategy.
"It's impossible to fight against a ghost," Romero said in his post-fight interview with the aid of an interpreter.
"I feel that the fight game now is whoever runs the fastest is the winner."
White, though, was not impressed by what he witnessed inside the T-Mobile Arena, claiming Cuban Romero "literally gave up" in his first outing since losing to Paulo Costa last year.
"He looked terrible tonight. He looked terrible. He literally gave up an opportunity tonight," the UFC president told the media.
"Maybe he comes back in his next fight, and he looks like Yoel Romero, but if he doesn't, I wouldn't expect him to fight another 10 years looking like that."
