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Daniel Cormier has broken down Robert Whittaker's points of improvement ahead of his rematch with Israel Adesanya at UFC 271.
According to 'DC', Whittaker hasn't shown any dramatic changes, but the incremental improvements he's made could prove to be the difference-maker. In an episode of ESPN's DC & RC podcast, Cormier said:
"Going back to the drawing board and trying to do everything brand new is a massive mistake that so many fighters make. It's small, little adjustments that you hope will close the gap. Because generally, in fight one, it's pretty close. Fight two, you come back and show you're 1-A in the division. Robert Whittaker has done that."
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Cormier went on to elaborate on what he believes are Whittaker's key points of improvement. The former UFC two-division champ continued:
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"Has Robert Whittaker shown new skills on the way to getting this rematch? Little things. But what he has really shown is he's more willing to go wherever the fight takes place. So with Darren Till, he took him down more. With Jared Cannonier, he hurt him and he kept him at range. So he's been more willing to fight wherever the fight takes place and not force things. He forced a lot in the first fight against Israel Adesanya. And with a guy that can counter in the way that 'The Last Stylebender' can counter, you can't force anything."
Check out Daniel Cormier's thoughts on UFC 271
Daniel Cormier: Robert Whittaker won't make the same mistakes
Daniel Cormier believes Robert Whittaker will be able to put on a better showing against Adesanya at UFC 271.
Whittaker got knocked out the first time he crossed paths with Adesanya in 2019. However, 'DC' believes 'The Reaper' won't suffer the same fate this time around. Speaking about the matchup during an interview with Helen Yee, Cormier said:
"I think it’ll be much more competitive. I think Robert Whittaker took time away and in the fights that he’s shown improvement. I don’t know how you improve when you’re Robert Whittaker and you defended the belt so many times and you were the champion and you were all these great things, but you’re still getting better, and he showed that in his last couple fights."
Watch Cormier's interview with Helen Yee:
