HOUSTON – Israel Adesanya thinks UFC 271 wasn’t his best performance, but it wasn’t his worst.
In a title rematch against Robert Whittaker (23-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC), the UFC middleweight champion Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) swept the judges’ scorecards 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 in front of a capacity Toyota Center crowd.
“7-out-of-10,” Adesanya told MMA Junkie at a post-fight news conference. “Not bad. A good night in the office. A good chess match.”
In the lead-up to the fight, Adesanya reiterated how he wanted to win more impressively than his second-round knockout win over Whittaker at UFC 243 in October 2019. The fight ended up being longer and closer, but it makes sense to Adesanya that his prediction was off.
“It’s easier said than done,” Adesanya said. “It’s easier said than done if you’ve already been in there with him before. I feel like people have goldfish memories. When they get in there with me, they realize, ‘Oh sh*t. It’s not as easy as we thought.’ Yeah, they just have to revert back to what they know. … We’re just two guys trying to be the best in the world, but tonight, I’m the best in the world.”
As for what’s next, Adesanya already has his next opponent penciled in. UFC president Dana White revealed the next title challenger will be Jared Cannonier, who defeated Derek Brunson via second-round knockout earlier on the UFC 271 main card.
“I was excited to see (Cannonier vs. Brunson) and see how it was going to play out,” White told MMA Junkie after the event. “It was an awesome fight. And yeah, I’m not going to say, ‘no,’ to Cannonier.”
Cannonier (15-5 MMA, 8-5) has won five of his most recent six outings with victories over Brunson, Kelvin Gastelum, Jack Hermansson, Anderson Silva, and David Branch. His only loss in the stretch was to Whittaker, in a fight in which he severely injured his arm.
“The division is filled with killers, but I’m looking forward to fresh meat,” Adesanya said. … (I didn’t see his fight in) close detail. I just saw bits and pieces. I think he even got rocked. I saw he got taken down. Then, he elbowed Brunson. I didn’t really take stock. I’ll go back and watch the fights later and see what it is. He made a statement. I even told him after the weigh-in, not the ceremonial one, I said, ‘Please, take this guy out so I can get some fresh meat. He said, ‘Bro, I’m trying to work.’ I said, ‘Me, too.’ So I’m a man of my word.”
Since he defeated Whittaker for the title, Adesanya has gone 4-1 with title defenses against Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori, and now Whittaker. His only loss in that stretch came in a light heavyweight title challenge against then-champion Jan Blachowicz.