At the upcoming UFC 290 event on July 8, Robert Whittaker is expected to compete against the surging South African fighter Dricus Du Plessis. Although the organisation has not yet made it official that this fight is a championship eliminator bout, all indications point to the winner of this fight going on to face Israel Adesanya in their next bout.
During a recent interview on The MMA Hour, ‘The Last Stylebender’ discussed his opinions on the upcoming fight between ‘Stillknocks’ and ‘Whittaker’ and declared that he would “manifest” a victory for ‘Stillknocks’ in the first round of the fight.
During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Israel Adesanya’s statements were discussed, and Robert Whittaker was made aware of them. The prediction is based on ‘The Reaper’s’ belief that his old adversary does not want to face him in the octagon again, which is why it was made.
Whittaker said:
“I’m sure that he wants Du Plessis to win so that [Adesanya] can fight him instead of me,” the fighter said. “I’m not sure why.”
Watch the interview starting at 2:05 down below:
In the octagon, Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya have faced each other twice, and both times, ‘The Last Stylebender’ has emerged victorious.
At UFC 243 in 2019, Adesanya earned the title of undisputed middleweight champion by submitting ‘The Reaper’ through technical knockout in the second round. At the third and final meeting, which took place three years later at UFC 271, Adesanya emerged victorious by a razor-thin margin.
The second bout between them saw intense competition, and it was determined that Robert Whittaker was “the best of the rest” at 185 pounds.
According to ‘The Reaper,’ Adesanya is targeting Du Plessis as his next opponent because he believes it will be a more manageable fight for ‘The Last Stylebender’ than facing Whittaker.
Robert Whittaker reflects on Jared Cannonier’s incredible win over Marvin Vettori
The phenomenal performance that Jared Cannonier delivered against Marvin Vettori in the main event of UFC Vegas 75 over the past weekend left Robert Whittaker completely speechless.
Cannonier established a new record for the most significant strikes landed in a fight by a fighter in his division with 241, which enhanced his prospects of competing for the title once more.
“The Reaper” praised “The Killa Gorilla” for his strategy, although he did point out that it almost cost him the fight in Round 1, when Vettori had him badly damaged on the feet. “The Killa Gorilla”
Whittaker made these comments in episode #15 of the MMArcade Podcast, which can be seen here:
“The new game plan that [Cannonier] was going to use, which involved coming in there, pushing the pace, and still altering stances, was deadly. And as a result, he came dangerously close to falling asleep.
The following is more from ‘The Reaper’:
“His strategy started to come together. [Cannonier] started gaining the advantage in the war of attrition, won the battle of cardio, and began to slow down Vettori. And once Vettori began to slow down, he was no longer able to land any more successful strikes.”
