Robert Whittaker feels "mental hurdle" will play a big role in potential rematch between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira

UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker believes Israel Adesanya will be facing a tough mental battle should he immediately rematch Alex Pereira.

Adesanya lost the title to 'Poatan' in the last round of their main event bout at UFC 281. 'The Last Stylebender' was heading to a win on the scorecards before the relentless pressure and power of the Brazilian paid off. The result meant that the Nigerian-New Zealander tasted his first defeat at middleweight.

The win for Pereira meant he now leads their personal head-to-head 3-0, winning two fights against Adesanya when they were both professional kickboxers and now one in the UFC.

In an interview with Submission Radio, 'The Reaper' stated that Israel Adesanya's biggest hurdle isn't his or Pereira's technique, it's the mental challenge of facing someone who's beaten you multiple times:

"I think the biggest hurdle Adesanya has in that fight with Pereira is mentally. It's hard to get to your head around a fight where you've lost to the same dude three times, knocked out by the dude twice. It's a mental hurdle. It's not to say he can't do it, I'm sure he's already come to grips with it and he's ready for a rematch. I think that's the biggest hurdle."

Robert Whittaker added:

"You could see on the night, skill-wise Adesanya had all the tools to take the win and I believe he was leading upto, but in the end that's the sport and that's how cookie crumbles sometimes."

Catch the full interview here:

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Darren Till on Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira

Similar to Robert Whittaker, Darren Till would be equally concerned if Israel Adesanya receives an immediate rematch against Alex Pereira.

According to the Liverpudlian, there is mentally no coming back from losing to the same fighter four times in a row. 'The Gorilla' instead insisted that 'The Last Stylebender' should take the appropriate time away from the octagon to reflect and recharge.

In an interview with MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn, the former welterweight contender said:

"Is a fourth fight worth it? Yeah I know you have to because Izzy was the champ for a long time and he was dominant, but Alex has beaten him three times. They're both strikers... I know I've lost a fight here and there but if you lose a fourth fight to the same person, I don't know. I'd love to speak to Izzy about it."

Catch the full interview here: