UFC middleweight Ian Heinisch predicts the outcome of Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2 [Exclusive]

Following his unsuccessful foray into the light heavyweight division against Jan Blachowicz, Israel Adesanya found his way back to the middleweight division with a chip on his shoulder.

While conversing with Sportskeeda's John Hyon Ko, UFC middleweight Ian Heinisch offered his two cents about Adesanya's prospects in the UFC against the former champion.

Looking to prove all his detractors wrong, 'The Last Stylebender' set off on a quest to bring all the 185lbs-ers to heel, yet again. Since before his decisive win over Italy's Marvin Vettori at UFC 263, Israel Adesanya has been gunning for a rematch with Robert Whittaker.

"Whittaker's gonna be a tough guy. I think it's going to be a lot tougher of a fight. I still think probably Izzy will win, but I don't think it's going to go down like it did. It's really going to test him. And like I said, the smarter fighter will win," declared Heinisch.

Watch the interview below:

Heinisch opines Robert Whittaker should have gotten the first crack at Israel Adesanya

Although Israel Adesanya has gone through everyone who's anyone in the middleweight division and emerged victorious, many of his former foes are looking to redeem themselves in the octagon.

Heinisch believes Robert Whittaker should have gotten the nod to take on Israel Adesanya ahead of Marvin Vettori.

"I feel like Whittaker should have gotten the shot right away. Obviously he had to go back to Australia and quarantine, and he needed more time."

'The Reaper' previously went toe-to-toe against Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 back in 2019, where he succumbed to a second-round KO and subsequently lost his title. However, Whittaker has since turned things around, recording three wins on the trot against Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum.

50-4550-4550-45Robert Whittaker with a masterclass performance scores a unanimous decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum at #UFCVegas24 👏 pic.twitter.com/oHqN7GljuE

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) April 18, 2021

While 'Bobby Knuckles' was approached for a fight against the middleweight kingpin, he turned it down to recuperate from his most recent fight against Gastelum.

Having taken his time to recover, the 30-year-old is all set to stake his claim for the title.

Ian Heinisch breaks down how Israel Adesanya held Marvin Vettori off

Jan Blachowicz handed the world the blueprint to overcome Israel Adesanya: take the fight to the ground. Marvin Vettori did just that. However, Adesanya had seemingly prepared a blueprint of his own to counter any attempts to take the fight to the mat.

The Italian attempted a whopping 14 takedowns, yet he could only successfully land 4 of them. His defense against the Italian was testimony to how much Israel Adesanya had grown in a matter of a couple of months.

What's more, Ian Heinisch eulogized Israel Adesanya, and the preparation undertook before butting heads with a former foe in Marvin Vettori.

"He fought smart. That's the key, man. Once you get to the Top-10, it's not about, I mean it's technique too, but it's about being up here (mind), man. How do you react when things aren't going your way? And he found a way to get the win."

Although Vettori did offer Adesanya some trouble with his wrestling, it was just not enough to turn the tide in his favor. The Italian was bested by Israel Adesanya, who fought with his mind just as much as he did with his fists.

The 32-year-old went on at length about Israel Adesanya's mentality. He stressed that the Kiwi was not all brawn, for he let his intellect fight half the battle for him. And although his debut at light heavyweight shone a light on his deficiencies, Israel Adesanya did more than enough to keep Marvin Vettori off his back.

"There are some holes, he can get taken down, he can get held down. But at the end of the day man, the guy's winning, and he's doing it with his skill, but he's doing it with his brain," said Heinisch.

Ian Heinisch nukes Khamzat Chimaev for ducking fights

Khamzat Chimaev was a fighter that made waves in the UFC upon his foray into the octagon. However, all the noise that he made has seemingly died down. What's more, the fact that he has been turning fights down left, and right has done no favors to his street cred and reputation.

Previously hailed as the successor to Khabib Nurmagomedov's throne in MMA folklore as one of the most dangerous pound-for-pound fighters, the hype around the Swede has mysteriously withered.

His reluctance to fight big names recently made it onto the fore as reports about 'Borz' turning Luke Rockhold away for a fight took the headlines by storm. 'The Hurricane' offered his take on the Khamzat Chimaev situation.

"At the end of the day, who knows where he's (Chimaev's) at mentally? He was going to quit fighting, he fired his manager. I don't know what, mentally, is going on with the guy. But that's why I said fight me!"

Heinisch offered Khamzat Chimaev an opportunity to take on a middleweight ranked lower than Luke Rockhold in a bid to help him make his way to the top. That's if 'Borz' were to survive three rounds in the octagon against the 32-year-old.

"Fight someone who's on the lower level. We both knocked out Gerald Meerschaert, you probably think you can run through me since all this confidence I see every time you're on camera. Why not fight me? Fight the guys in the middle. Test yourself. Work your way up the ladder."

Although Ian Heinisch has found himself in a downward spiral of sorts, having lost three of his last five fights, a fight against Khamzat Chimaev could do well for both the fighters.

Who do you think would come out on top if these two fighters were to butt heads? Let us know in the comments!