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Robert Whittaker has only lost to two middleweight fighters since his debut at 185 pounds in 2014, namely Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis. 'The Reaper' was dethroned by Adesanya when the pair met at UFC 243 in 2019 and was defeated again when their rematch took place at UFC 271.
'The Last Stylebender' most recently went up against du Plessis in the main event of UFC 305, where the South African secured an incredible submission win. In the process, he became the first fighter to finish both Adesanya and Whittaker, whom 'Stillknocks' defeated via KO at UFC 290.
With Adesanya's next possible opponent up in the air, the 33-year-old was asked to share his thoughts on a potential trilogy bout with the former champion during an interview with mainevent. 'The Reaper' said this:
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"I don't know, Borralho maybe [next for Adesanya]? I think people are talking about it. I don't know, Izzy needs to fight someone. Not me, I fought him twice already... I'm fighting Chimaev, and the winner of that is gonna fight for a title. The timelines just don't work."
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Watch Robert Whittaker discuss fighting Israel Adesanya below (5:30):
Sean Strickland turned down Robert Whittaker fight offer, confirms the Australian's manager
Following Sean Strickland's title loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297, the American remained steadfast that he would not accept a fight unless the middleweight belt was on the line.
'Tarzan' felt that he should have had his hand raised over du Plessis after a competitive five-round fight saw the South African secure a split-decision win.
'Stillknocks' faced Israel Adesanya in his first defense of the 185-pound title in the main event of UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. It has now been confirmed by Whittaker's manager, Titus Day, that Strickland turned down an offer to fight 'The Reaper' on the same card.
Day was recently interviewed by Submission Radio, where he said this:
"Rob wants to fight. That's how he makes a living... Straight after the last fight [against Aliskerov] in Riyadh, they said to us, literally on the day, they said, 'Does Rob want to fight Sean in Perth?' Yeah said, 'Yeah sure, absolutely.' Apparently [Strickland] said no. Yeah that was it."
Watch Robert Whittaker's manager discuss Sean Strickland below (5:00):
