HOUSTON – Israel Adesanya admits it. There’s no way around it. Robert Whittaker has improved since their first meeting in October 2019.
But by how much? Well, the public perception is a little off, according to the UFC middleweight champion. Ahead of their rematch Saturday at UFC 271, Adesanya (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) explained his stance Wednesday during a pre-fight news conference.
“Recency bias” also contributes in the court of public opinion entering this fight, he indicated. Just because Whittaker (23-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) looked very good against other contenders doesn’t mean the outcome of this fight will be any different than the first.
“I think he’s a good fighter, and I think he has gotten better,” Adesanya told MMA Junkie. “I’d be lying if I said he hasn’t, but I saw on Twitter again. I have a lot of time during fight week, so I’m scrolling a lot. But I saw Luke Thomas, yes, ‘Morning Kombat.’ He was saying pretty much we know this.
“In MMA, we have recency bias. You guys remember from the Yoel fight, ‘Oh my god. Israel is so boring. He just runs away.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, really? Watch this.’ They just forget. Rob is a good fighter. He’s had a lot of knockouts in the past. He’s gotten better, but I just don’t think it warrants that kind of reaction.”
Since Adesanya’s second-round knockout in their first fight at UFC 243, Whittaker has gone 3-0 with unanimous decisions over Darren Till, Kelvin Gastelum and Jared Cannonier. Meanwhile, Adesanya has gone 3-1 with his only loss a light heavyweight title challenge against then-champion Jan Blachowicz.
UFC 271 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
Israel Adesanya: Robert Whittaker improved, but ‘recency bias’ clouding people’s assessment
