Israel Adesanya losing to Alex Pereira could benefit him in the rematch, says Robert Whittaker

Israel Adesanya will look to avenge his UFC 281 loss and reclaim the middleweight title when he faces Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 287 in April. Robert Whittaker, who has lost to Adesanya twice, recently shared that he believes his former opponent's loss could help him in the upcoming rematch.

During a recent appearance on UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping's Believe You Me podcast, Robert Whittaker claimed that having already lost to Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya's mindset heading into the rematch will be very different:

"If we look at the fight just from a mental perspective, I believe Adesanya had a better chance last fight, but in saying that though, maybe now that the worst has happened, again, it frees him up for the next one. You can see where it can swing both ways really easily."

Whittaker elaborated, adding:

"It can either swing one way where it frees him up - the worst has happened, whatever, he gets in there mentally free. Or, he’s worried about it happening again with the small gloves because it has happened. Honestly, skill-wise, he could have beat him skill-wise last time. It was a close fight."

Catch Robert Whittaker's comments on Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 2 below (7:00):

Israel Adesanya has lost to Alex Pereira in each of their three previous meetings, two of which came in kickboxing, despite every fight being very close. Another loss to 'Poatan' will certainly leave a lasting impression on Adesanya's legacy, so the stakes are high going into the highly anticipated sequel.

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Joe Rogan is "very interested" in the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira

Despite suffering a peroneal nerve injury in the first round of his UFC 281 middleweight title fight against Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya was ahead three rounds to one before being stopped in the fifth and final frame.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently shared that he is interested in seeing how 'The Last Stylebender' fares at UFC 287 without his leg being compromised. Speaking to guest Paul Felder on episode #135 of The JRE MMA Show, Rogan said:

"I'm very interested in the rematch. Very interested because you got to think, Izzy almost had him out in the first round. He almost had him out. If he can avoid getting that leg compromised like he did in the first round of that fight and so he's got his movement, and he also had some great moments grappling which surprised a lot of people."

Catch Joe Rogan's comments on Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 2 below (4:32):

Despite losing to Pereira at UFC 281, Adesanya has opened as the betting favorite for their UFC 287 headlining clash. The Nigerian-born Kiwi opened as a -145 favorite, while his Brazilian foe opened as a +125 underdog.