Robert Whittaker Reveals UFC Told Him Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira at UFC 287 Will Affect “What Direction” He Takes at Middleweight

The highly anticipated rematch between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira is around the corner. They will headline UFC 287 on April 8 at the Miami-Dade Arena. This match will be watched by not just the fans, but by former champion Robert Whittaker as well. He recently mentioned the importance of this fight and how it will impact his UFC future.

Robert Whittaker has been sitting ducks for seven months since his last fight against Marvin Vettori, which he won. Since then, there have been no updates on his next fight under the UFC banner. The Aussie fighter received a callout from rising star Khamzat Chimaev a few months ago. But nothing has come out of that. However, the former middleweight champion has provided a hint as to what we can expect from him in the future.

Robert Whittaker has his sights set on the main event of UFC 287

‘The Reaper’ recently made an appearance on the ‘MMARCADE’ podcast where he mentioned that his UFC future will depend on the outcome of the Adesanya vs Pereira fight. He said, “This card? This UFC card on the weekend, UFC 287 – Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya, I have a lot of invested interest in it.” 

Robert Whittaker said that he’s been in talks with Dana White‘s promotion. He revealed that his future and next direction will depend on the outcome of the main event this weekend. Whittaker said, “I have been speaking to the UFC, and they let me know that, ‘We’re gonna wait till the weekend to see what direction you take.” He added, “I can only imagine that the results of this fight [Pereira vs Adesanya] impact my next fight. So I am gonna be watching this very closely.”

However, that was not it. He also shared how Adesanya versus Pereira had a storyline.

Whittaker’s take on UFC’s love for fights with storylines

The former middleweight champion mentioned during the podcast how crazy it was that Alex Pereira was handed a title shot after only three fights in the UFC. Whittaker then stated that this was because of the promotion’s love for a storyline. He said, “UFC in the industry, they love a story. They love that story and the villain arc of [Alex] Pereira coming in and chasing him [Israel Adesanya] across sports.”

Whittaker believes the history between the two main fighters prompted Dana White to put Alex Pereira in a position of prominence. He said, “That was such a compelling story that it got him [Pereira] a title shot within three fights.”

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The middleweight division has become one of the most exciting divisions in UFC after Alex Pereira halted the three-year reign of Israel Adesanya. Fans will have to wait and see what follows this weekend in Miami.

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