"He's a champ for a reason" - Robert Whittaker reveals what he thinks is Israel Adesanya's 'greatest strength'

Robert Whittaker recently weighed in on Israel Adesanya's fighting strengths ahead of their bout at UFC 271.

In an interview on the UFC's YouTube channel, Whittaker acknowledged that Adesanya's striking abilities were his finest asset. 'The Reaper' also praised the Nigerian-New Zealander's timing and wrestling skills, describing him as a "great fighter across the board."

Speaking about his upcoming opponent at UFC 271, Robert Whittaker said:

"Certainly his striking. His striking, his timing, he is just a great fighter. I can't limit it down to striking. He's a great fighter across the board. Like his wrestling defence is obviously high, his grappling is not bad... He's a good fighter. He's a champ for a reason. He's stayed there for a little while now. Yeah, you've got to give respect when it's due and yeah... he's a good fighter."

Watch Whittaker's full interview with the UFC below:

Robert Whittaker first met Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 back in 2019. 'The Reaper' suffered a second-round knockout and lost the middleweight belt to 'The Last Stylebender'.

Israel Adesanya is now looking to defend his title against Whittaker in their upcoming rematch at UFC 271 at the Toyota Center in Houston, United States.

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Israel Adesanya believes Robert Whittaker is underestimating his grappling ahead of UFC 271

In a recent appearance on the The Megan Anderson Show, Adesanya suggested Whittaker was undervaluing his grappling skills. 'The Last Stylebender' was confident that the Australian will face his toughest grappling test yet at UFC 271.

The UFC middleweight champion said:

“I think he’s underestimating my grappling so I look forward to exchanging with him in that part of martial arts because he never felt me the first time in the clinch or on the grapple and [he can talk to] everyone, you can go talk to [Derek] Brunson and ask him what I feel like in the clinch, so I look forward to exchanging with him, I look forward to scrambling with him here and I like that look in their eyes when they realize what they’re in for. Same thing in the first fight when they realize, ‘Oh sh*t, he is as good as he says he is.’ So [I] look forward to him feeling that when we grapple [and] when you exchange locks.”

Watch 'The Last Stylebender' give his opinion on Whittaker below: