How 'The Reaper' Robert Whittaker scythed a path to Adesanya rematch
Robert Whittaker was bowed but unbroken by his heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Israel Adesanya in 2019… now, ‘The Reaper’ has scythed a path back to his UFC 271 rematch and looked sensational on the way
- Robert Whittaker was dethroned as champion by Israel Adesanya at UFC 243
- He was on a nine-fight winning streak at the time before the shattering loss
- In the immediate aftermath, Whittaker was bullish about his rematch chances
- He has been sensational in forging his way back for their UFC 271 showdown
It has been almost two-and-a-half years since the worst night of Robert Whittaker’s career.
In front of 57,000 fans at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, he was unceremoniously dethroned as the UFC middleweight champion by the man from across the Tasman, Israel Adesanya.
Whittaker was on a nine-fight winning streak at the time but the flashy striker opposite him danced his way to the octagon and danced out with the belt.
Robert Whittaker suffered a defeat on home turf against Israel Adesanya (right) in 2019
Adesanya caught the Australian and the referee waved off the contest to protect him
But when you look back at the night, specifically the aftermath, Whittaker was bullish. He was disappointed but unbroken, adamant that he could beat Adesanya given another chance.
He has that chance on February 12 in the headline act of UFC 271 and when you see how undeterred he was back in October 19, it is no surprise at all.
Whittaker reflected at the time: ‘He beat me tonight but I’m 28 and this is my first loss in the division. Trust me when I say that I’m not going anywhere.
‘I am fortunate enough that I didn’t leave the octagon with any injuries so I’ll look to get back in there and get back to work.
‘I think I surprised him, I think I surprised him with my striking. I wasn’t in awe of his striking, I was confident with my own and I was getting great success with my own.
‘We went out there and we put our hearts on and it happens. You put two of the best strikers in the world together, that’s what happens, someone is going to get caught. Unfortunately it was me.
He added: ‘Obviously I’m always down for a rematch but I’m on the market, I’m here to fight. I felt great tonight, this is the best I’ve ever been.
‘I’d like to see, on another night, us go at it again, I think I can beat him, honest to God. And that’s what’s so disappointing I guess, I feel like I can beat him.
‘I have the skills to beat him but we clashed heads and I came off second best. Hats off, he’s a great striker but I’m going nowhere. I’m still one of the best fighters in the world.’
Whittaker says that he believes he has the skillset to beat Adesanya on another night
Whittaker has backed up everything he said in that post-fight press conference.
The next cab off the rank for him was Darren Till, a nightmare opponent to match-up against with his technical ability and raw power.
It proved to be a high-level chess match with ebbs and flows of momentum keeping the fans enthralled.
Ultimately, the judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 48-47 in the Australian’s favour and he had the bounce-back win he craved.
‘That was the most technical striking fight I’ve ever had. It was stressful,’ he reflected.
‘I understood that it was a very close fight, I thought the second round was definitely mine, the third round, fourth round could have gone either way but I showed my championship level mentality and experience in the fifth. To finish it off by taking him down was a big boon in the scorecards for me.’
The Reaper defeated Darren Till in a close fight to bounce back from the Adesanya loss
Jared Cannonier was also on the receiving end of Whittaker’s resurgence in their 2020 fight
Whittaker carried that championship mentality into his next encounter with Jared Cannonier.
Many believed Cannonier was too big and too powerful for the ‘Reaper’ but on a night remembered primarily for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement, Whittaker claimed victory in the co-main event.
In a tight three-rounder, he took the win 48-47, 48-47, 48-47 on the scorecards to hand the American his only defeat in his last five fights.
‘I had the discipline to stick with the gameplan the entire time. I hurt my foot early in the first round, I think I covered it well because I kept throwing it.
‘Resilience was the key word for him, I knew he was going to be tough and probably wouldn’t put him away. I just had to make him pay, pepper him and hurt him where I can.’
With each fight, Whittaker was evolving, showing his championship nous against Till and the ability to follow a gameplan to the letter against Cannonier.
Whittaker knows that he will have to bring something different this time in Houston
Next up was Kelvin Gastelum a dangerous opponent and one who pushed Adesanya as far as he’s been pushed in the octagon, still coming up short.
That said, Gastelum had lost three of his previous four at the time and the bout took place behind closed doors with the pandemic still affecting crowds.
It proved to be a masterclass from Whittaker. He completely dominated every round, winning 50–45, 50–45, 50–45.
‘I knew it would be a hard fight, it was a hard fight. I know he’s had a bit of a skid. People sleep on him a lot. Every strike I landed, he took two steps forward. It is a smaller octagon so I had to play to that.
‘The idea was to be first, attack, make him pay. To take a step back was to be cut off. Right at the end he tried to roll me and continue the spin, my black belt jiu-jitsu came out there.’
Adesanya will have a different kind of challenge this time with Whittaker at UFC 271
After the win, everyone is calling for the title fight for me. That’s how I’ve always taken to fighting, if you beat them all, you’re eventually at the top. It is a simple path and there is no fight that makes sense for me other than that title shot.’
So here we are again. Whittaker promised he would come back and he has. He vowed to show that he remains one of the world’s best fighters, and he has.
Crucially, he was also adamant he has the skillset to beat Adesanya. On Saturday night, we’ll find out if he was right on all counts.
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