Israel Adesanya is preparing a surprise for Robert Whittaker.
A middleweight title fight rematch is on the horizon for UFC 271. Champion Israel Adesanya will be taking on Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271 next Saturday. These two men have some history together, as they fought once before when the belt originally changed hands.
Now with the second fight set, Adesanya isn’t going to be coming in with the same tactics that caught Whittaker the first time. No, he has a whole new set of skills that he will be utilizing.
“Rob’s going to be in shock,” Adesanya told Combat TV (via MMA Junkie.) “He’s going to be in for a rude awakening when he feels me because the first time we didn’t clinch. I hope to clinch with him this time because every time they do it and they realize, ‘Oh he’s a lot stronger than –’ they all say that. They think they know how strong I am until they feel me, then they’re like, ‘Oh sh*t.’”
Since the loss to Adesanya, Whittaker has won three in a row. In fact, the only loss Whittaker has taken in the last seven years was the one to Adesanya. After taking some time off, Whittaker is ready to take the title shot handed to him and return to New Zealand as the king of the 185-pound division. Whittaker will be eager to regain his lost title, but Adesayna will not be so quick to back down.
“I’m not going to fight him the way I fought him the first time, and I know he’s not going to fight me the way he fought me the first time,” Adesanya said. “He’s a silly boy. If he thinks he has someone else’s blueprint to beat me, he’s a silly man. But his team’s smart, so that’s why I take him seriously. It’s because of his team. He, himself, he’s a silly boy.”
Adesanya is undefeated at middleweight in his professional MMA career. His only loss came when he tried to go up and take the light heavyweight belt from Jan Blachowicz unsuccessfully. As the #3 pound-for-pound fighter in the world and at 32 years old, Adesanya is just getting started in the UFC.
Do you think Israel Adesanya will be able to defeat Robert Whittaker again at UFC 271?