After losing their first encounter by KO at UFC 243, ‘The Reaper’ bounced back with three consecutive wins to earn a rematch against Adesanya. Whittaker put on a much-improved showing, but lost a razor-close unanimous decision on the night.
During a recent interview with Submission Radio, the Australian middleweight stated that he was happy with the execution of his game plan at UFC 271. Whittaker feels that he controlled most of the rounds in his rematch against Adesanya and did enough to reclaim the 185 lbs crown, saying:
Watch Whittaker’s appearance on Submission Radio:
Robert Whittaker details the struggle of trying to take Israel Adesanya down
Landing takedowns was a huge part of Robert Whittaker’s game plan in his rematch against Israel Adesanya at UFC 271. Despite being unable to control the champion on the canvas for extended periods, ‘The Reaper’ managed to land four takedowns. He even scrambled into a backpack position in the fourth round.
During his conversation with Submission Radio, Whittaker revealed why Adesanya is so difficult to take down. According to the former middleweight champion:
Whittaker stated that the risks of using all his energy to hold Adesanya down outweighed the rewards. The 30-year-old added:
Despite having already lost twice to Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker did enough at UFC 271 to prove that he’s arguably one of the two best middleweights on the planet. If he can rack up a few wins at 185 lbs, he could find himself on the cusp of title contention once again.
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