"He can win some rounds with the wrestling" - Chris Weidman explains how Robert Whittaker can overcome Israel Adesanya at UFC 271

Chris Weidman has explained how Robert Whittaker can defeat Israel Adesanya in their rematch at UFC 271.

Weidman, a former UFC middleweight champion himself, is recovering from a gruesome leg injury that he suffered last April.

Ahead of his eventual return to the octagon, Weidman addressed the upcoming UFC middleweight title matchup between Adesanya and Whittaker.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Weidman suggested that Whittaker could win a few rounds against Adesanya by adopting a wrestling-heavy strategy.

When asked how he sees Whittaker beating Adesanya at UFC 271, the 37-year-old stated:

“I don’t think he [Whittaker] is taking him down, holding him down for five rounds. I think he’d get maybe two rounds, with a takedown here and there; hold him down for a little bit. Adesanya gets back up to his feet; he threatens a submission. I think Adesanya is good enough to get back up.” Weidman added, “I think Whittaker is the better wrestler. But I don’t think he has the strength; I don’t think he has that type of strength to wrestle him out for five rounds. But I do think he can win some rounds with the wrestling, which also will get into Adesanya’s head with the striking and limit what he’s able to do on the feet.”

Chris Weidman explained that Robert Whittaker winning rounds with his wrestling could likely make Israel Adesanya “a little bit more timid, which could open up Whittaker’s stand-up.”

Watch Chris Weidman’s conversation with Ariel Helwani in the video below:

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Dan Hooker on Israel Adesanya being 'nervous' ahead of his UFC 271 rematch against Robert Whittaker

Israel Adesanya out-struck and beat Robert Whittaker via second-round KO at UFC 243 in October 2019. The reigning UFC middleweight champion is now set to defend his title in a rematch against ‘The Reaper’ at UFC 271 on February 12th.

Ahead of their rematch, Adesanya’s longtime teammate Dan Hooker spoke to James Lynch for LowKick MMA. ‘The Hangman’ highlighted that Adesanya has the requisite nervous energy to keep him on his toes and prepare well for the rematch, despite having dominated the first fight.

He said:

"I guess with the rematch, especially the way that the first fight went, you can kind of – not necessarily underestimate your opponent – but you can take it a little bit lightly because you know you put on such a dominant performance right there. It might be hard to get up for the training but it's not like that. Like he said to me this morning, he said, 'You know I'm nervous.' That's good, you know. He's got that nervous energy which you need."

Watch Dan Hooker's interview below: