Inspired by Alex Pereira Saga, Robert Whittaker Changes Tune on Israel Adesanya Fight: “Watching What Could Have Been, I Realized”

Robert Whittaker hasn’t fought since his victory over Marvin Vettori at UFC Fight Night 209, which was the first event to take place in France. He recently appeared on the latest episode of ‘MMA Hour’ and discussed his UFC future. ‘The Reaper’ is confident that he can beat Israel Adesanya if they meet for the third time.

The former middleweight champion was supposed to take on Paulo Costa at UFC 284 in Perth. But the UFC cancelled as the fight as they couldn’t come to terms with ‘The Eraser’. Since then, he has been waiting for a fight with a credible contender.

Robert Whittaker wants to fight Israel Adesanya again

During the interview with combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani, Whittaker mentioned his wish for a rematch against ‘The Last Stylebender’. He said, “I want to fight Izzy [Adesanya] again. I really want to fight him specifically.” ‘The Reaper’ added, “I didn’t realize how much I wanted to beat him in particular until it could have gone another way.”

He mentioned that there were talks of him fighting Alex Pereira for the title. If that wasn’t an option, he would have opted to fight Adesanya. But he was game. Whittaker was ready to fight anyone. “I always said that it doesn’t matter. I will fight anyone I just wanna fight for the belt,” said Whittaker. However, after watching the UFC 287 main event, ‘The Reaper’ realized that he wanted to fight Israel Adesanya more than Alex Pereira. He said, “In actuality, watching that fight and watching what could have been, I realized like ‘No, I want to fight Israel.”

Third time is the charm for Whittaker

Robert Whittaker confidently stated that he can beat Israel Adesanya if they meet for the third time, compared to the latter defeating Alex Pereira in four outings. He said, “Izzy fought Pereira four times over the course of his career. I am only gonna need it to fight Izzy three times because I will beat him that next time. I am 100 percent confident that I will beat him that next time.”

However, Whittaker has not turned down the possibility that he may not get to fight for the title. If that happens, he plans to return to the Octagon by the latter half of this year. ‘The Reaper’ said, “If I’m not fighting for the title, I’m not fighting Izzy, then I wanna fight much sooner than September or October.” Moreover, the UFC told him that his next fight will depend on the outcome of the UFC 287 main event. So it begs to question if the UFC will make this fight happen.

READ MORE: After Denying Title Shot Due to Poirier, “Good Cop” Dana White Gifts Hefty Pay Raise to Beneil Dariush

Robert Whittaker preferably wants to fight for the middleweight championship and get the trilogy fight against Israel Adesanya. But he is also open to other options.

What do you think about the Australian’s comments? Whom should Whittaker fight next? Let us know in the comments down below.

WATCH THIS STORY: Conor McGregor Responds To Khabib Nurmagomedov’s GOAT List