The much-hyped rematch between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya will go down this Saturday. UFC 271 will feature the contest 3 years in the making. After their first fight in 2019, Bobby Knuckles has stayed active and made rapid improvements.
While in the first fight, the Aussie had a very careless approach to the fight. Rob lunged forward with his hands down and got countered every time. After being dropped right at the bell of the first round, Adesanya finished him in the second.
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However, Whittaker has altered his style since then. During his fights with Darren Till and Kelvin Gastelum, ‘The Reaper’ showed off his grappling prowess. According to many pundits and analysts, wrestling is the key for him to take down the current champion. Former UFC title contender Dan Hardy is one of them.
Dan Hardy believes Robert Whittaker will have the edge over Israel Adesanya in grappling
On his Full Reptile podcast, former welterweight fighter, Dan Hardy discussed the upcoming fight. He spoke about the pressure of being a UFC champion and the distractions it causes to a fighter’s regular life. Hardy also touched on the lack of development of the ground skills of Izzy.
He said, “There is a burden about having the belt. I think rose has spoken about it. What can Adesanya work on in between the fights? How much time does he have in between the fights? How often is he gonna go on to the mat and work jujitsu four-five times a week? Which is probably what he needs to be doing.”
Hardy also spoke on the role ‘City Kick-boxing’ played in Adesanya’s development. The majority of CKB fighters are excellent at striking. Dan pointed that out during the podcast.
“He is probably gonna bolster the skills he has already got. Like you would if you went to a gym that had a mat full of sharks and it was always hard Sparring. You don’t learn anything new. You get better at what you’re already good at. And I think that’s what Adesanya has done. I don’t think we’re gonna see any surprises from his ground game. I will be surprised if it does the right thing in half guard,”
The British native also predicted that Israel Adesanya will become a ‘one-note’ fighter in a few years. He blamed the lack of wrestling skills for that. Hardy concluded his thoughts on the views by saying, “I think Whittaker might be able to expose his (ground game.)”
Robert Whittaker himself pointed towards Adesanya’s loss to Jan Blachowicz as a potential way to beat the ‘Stylebender.’ The fight is just a few days away. Will Robert be able to regain the title? Only time will tell.