Israel Adesanya has been on a dominant middleweight run since his UFC debut. Though he did not succeed in his attempt to win the light heavyweight title he is yet to lose a fight in the middleweight division.
Moreover, he bounced back from the loss to Jan Blachowicz with a dominant win over Marvin Vettori. And next, he takes on the former champion, Robert Whittaker in a much-anticipated rematch.
Since the loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243, Robert Whittaker has been on an impressive winning streak. And it seems he is improving with each fight. His fight against Darren Till was a close one but the Reaper took a decision win in the end. However, he just outclassed Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum, who had a close fight with Israel Adesanya.
So many fans believe that Whittaker will be able to avenge his loss in the rematch and have a lot more success. However, Adesanya completely disagrees with that notion. In fact, he believes he is going to outclass Whittaker again with the new weapons he has added to his arsenal.
In a recent interview with NewsTalk ZB, Adesanya stated:
“It’s the passion, the thirst for knowledge. I am not done. I just started working again with Carl Van Roon who is a taekwondo black belt, multiple time New Zealand champion, Australian Champion, World champion. I have not hit the limit yet. These people don’t understand what’s coming. Like Robert, the first three moves I make on our rematch, he is gonna second guess himself, third guess himself.”
Can Robert Whittaker beat Israel Adesanya in the rematch?
The first fight between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker was a one-sided affair as Adesanya picked up an easy win. However, Whittaker did have some success in the first round.
If Whittaker mixes things up in the rematch then he will have more success compared to the first fight. But, there are some factors that Whittaker will need to deal with smartly.
Adesanya’s reach will be a problem for every UFC middleweight including Whittaker. The Reaper will have to find his openings and land his shots. Though Jan Blachowicz took Adesanya down and controlled him in rounds 4 and 5 of their fight, it will be difficult for Whittaker to replicate that. But, he will need to initiate a clinch and get Adesanya to the ground to win on the judges’ scorecard if the fight goes the distance.
Though Robert Whittaker is one of the best middleweights of all time beating Adesanya is not going to be an easy task for him despite his improvements since UFC 243.