Israel Adesanya’s teammates lay remarkable praise on his arch-rival Robert Whittaker
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Adesanya and Whittaker have proven that they are above the rest of the division
Robert Whittaker is stuck in a weird position where he is slightly below Israel Adesanya the divisional champ but vastly superior to every other contender below him. In fact Whittaker now holds the distinction of being the only contender to have beaten everyone in the top 5 (except the latest entry, Alex Pereira)
His recent performance against Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris was a masterclass if there was one and even Adesanya’s teammtes cannot help but praise the man. Both Alexander Volksnovski and Dan Hooker who are teammates and close friends of Israel heaped praises on the man who is Izzy’s arch-rival.
Whittaker and Volkanovski host the “Fight Week” show on FOX Australia and have gotten quite acquainted with each other. Dan Hooker, who replaced Whittaker on the show for the week said of Whittaker’s performance, “Outclassed him, clean as clock, stayed at distance and was able to just pick him apart Marvin was just behind him the whole fight”, as he revealed that he agreed with the judges scoring it 30-27.
Hooker then suggested that because of the way that the division is, Izzy having beaten every top contender, Whittaker may need one more fight before earning another title shot. “A fight between Rob Whittaker and Paulo Costa works very well, and that without a doubt puts the winner back into a title shot”
Alex agreed saying, “It’s obviously a tricky one, Rob has been doing his thing, and obviously he has the loss to the champion but he has put everyone apart, another win against a guy like Costa, it should put him right back there”
Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker: An Incomplete Trilogy
Israel and Robert first fought at UFC 243 in front of the largest live audience for a UFC event. Izzy would KO Whittaker in only the second round in front of his home crowd, even scoring a devastating KD at the end of the first.
While their rematch wasn’t as explosive, Whittaker made significant changes to his game but came up short in a controversial decision loss. While not appreciative, Whittaker has said he empathizes with Adesanya’s cautious approach to fighting as he would have done the same if he had the chance to.
Whitaker has expressed he’d be willing to fight whenever the UFC makes its return to Australia even if it is not for a title. Israel on the other hand has a fight booked for November against his kickboxing rival, Alex Pereira.
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Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)