5 reasons why Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2 will be more competitive than the first fight

#4. Robert Whittaker has been on scintillating form while Israel Adesanya has been hot and cold

Looking at both fighters' last three fights, Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker are seemingly on different runs of form.

Whittaker, following his loss to Adesnya in 2019, took a year-long hiatus from the octagon. He returned to action at UFC Fight Island 3 to take on English middleweight Darren Till. The duo put on a highly technical affair which saw the Australian come away with a unanimous decision victory.

He subsequently took on Jared Cannonier at UFC 254. Cannonier was being anointed by Israel Adesanya, the reigning champion, as the next contender for the title should he beat 'The Reaper'. Whittaker dominated all three rounds of the bout.

Whittaker took on Kelvin Gastelum in a five-round main event in his most recent bout at UFC Vegas 24. He put on an absolute masterclass to earn another unanimous decision win.

The Australian's three-fight win streak reignited the MMA community's interest in a rematch with Adesanya. Whittaker looked on point in his three bouts since the loss to his Kiwi rival and seemingly appeared to be enjoying himself as well. The love for the game is clearly back for the former champ.

Israel Adesanya put in a near-perfect performance against Paulo Costa in his second title defense. He secured a TKO victory against the Brazilian and subsequently opted to make a move to light heavyweight to take on then-205 lbs champion Jan Blachowicz.

Adesanya came up short in his attempt at becoming a two-division champion, losing via unanimous decision to the Polish champion. In his next bout, he defended his middleweight title against Marvin Vettori at UFC 263 last year. While it was a comfortable victory, the Kiwi's performance wasn't anything to write home about.

He called out Robert Whittaker in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

Adesanya recently revealed that he was feeling "bored" at times during the loss to Blachowicz and the win over Vettori. During an interview with ESPN MMA, the New Zealander dubbed 2021 as the most "lackluster" year of his career and shared his desire to stay active in 2022.

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#3. The blueprint to beat Israel Adesanya has been revealed

At UFC 259 last year, Israel Adesanya suffered the first loss of his professional MMA career. As discussed in the previous entry, Adesanya took on then-UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in pursuit of double-champ status.

Blachowicz didn't attempt to blitz Adesanya the way Whittaker did in their first fight. The Polish fighter opted to allow 'The Last Stylebender' to come to him, opening up the opportunity to land takedowns in the center of the octagon.

Adesanya's takedown defense is immaculate when he's against the cage wall. Blachowicz exposed the Kiwi's inability to get back up without the help of the fence. He came away with a unanimous decision victory and became the first fighter to defeat the reigning middleweight champion.

Robert Whittaker believes Jan Blachowicz provided a blueprint to beat Israel Adesanya. 'The Reaper' certainly took note of the former light heavyweight champion's strategy in defeating Adesanya. During an interview with MMA Junkie, he said:

"I think Jan [Blachowicz] set a blueprint on how to beat him [Israel Adesanya]. But again I don't have the same skillset and tools that Jan does. I don't have that Polish power, nor that Polish head. You know, like he's a tough guy. So gotta utilize what I have. Definitely we saw that Izzy is much less dangerous off his back. Still dangerous but less dangerous. You know, if I was a strategist I would be writing down all the points which Jan utilized to take that win and then putting it in my own."

He added:

"I would love to be able to get him [Israel Adesanya] on his back and to work on the ground. It’s no secret that the greatest advantage anyone would have with ‘Izzy’ is on his back where he can’t use his long arms and long legs to hit you. It’s no secret."