Robert Whittaker says Israel Adesanya rematch is the only fight he wants

In an interview with ESPN, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker asserted that a rematch between him and Israel Adesanya is highly likely to take place.

Back in October of 2019, Whittaker - who was the then-UFC middleweight champion - faced Interim UFC middleweight titlist Adesanya in a title unification matchup.

Robert Whittaker ended up losing to Israel Adesanya by way of second-round KO.

Since the vicious KO loss to Adesanya, Whittaker has managed to string together a two-fight winning streak, defeating Darren Till via unanimous decision in July of this year and then beat Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision just last October.

On the other hand, Israel Adesanya followed up his victory over Whittaker with a pair of successful title defenses over Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa.

Adesanya defeated Romero via unanimous decision in March of this year and bested Costa by second-round TKO in September.

In the aftermath of Robert Whittaker’s recent victory over Jared Cannonier in what was touted as a number-one contender’s matchup for a shot at the UFC Middleweight belt, certain sections of the MMA community believe that Whittaker ought to be granted a rematch against Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title.

Robert Whittaker defeats Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision.This marks Whittaker’s 2nd straight win since losing the title to Israel Adesanya last October.No. 1 contenders facing No. 2 contenders are now 11-5 since rankings began in 2013. pic.twitter.com/gHFkkBOjJb

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 24, 2020

Robert Whittaker looks forward to fighting Israel Adesanya

In the interview with ESPN, Robert Whittaker addressed the possibility of him facing Adesanya in a rematch for the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Whittaker revealed that he’s been enjoying his free time by playing video games and eating during his quarantine period after UFC 254.

The Reaper explained that he works hard for his fights, in order to ensure that he can enjoy this leisure time that he gets after the fights.

Additionally, when questioned as to whether he believes his next fight could be for the UFC Middleweight belt against Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker stated –

“I think it’s a pretty sure thing. (UFC President) Dana White himself even commented that’s the fight that’s going to happen. What Israel (Adesanya) is doing, you know I can’t control that. It’s anybody’s guess.”

“But I know where I am and I’m here. I’ll wait for it and yeah, we’ll run that back.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)

Furthermore, with regard to how he’s evolved since his loss to Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker emphasized that he’s a completely different person and fighter now.

Whittaker noted that he’s a happier and much more accomplished fighter.

The Australian also added that he’s also much more relaxed now which in turn opens up all of his skill-sets.

Moreover, Robert Whittaker pointed out that Israel Adesanya is a hard fight, adding that champion looked very good in his last fight.

Whittaker also lauded Adesanya for being a skilled and talented fighter, and a terrible fight to prepare for, but added that he is indeed looking forward to facing Adesanya in a rematch.

“He’s a tough fight, man. I’m not stoked to fight him. He’s a hard fight and he’s so good and he only looked better in his last fight.”@robwhittakermma says he’s interested in a rematch with Israel Adesanya in the most Robert Whittaker way possible 😅 pic.twitter.com/kBlXMG2J10

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 25, 2020

Which fighter do you think would emerge victorious in a rematch between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya? Sound off in the comments.