Robert Whittaker sees possible Israel Adesanya trilogy with win over Marvin Vettori

Robert Whittaker hopes he can get right back to a title shot with a win over Marvin Vettori.

Looking to rebound from his loss to middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 271 in February, Whittaker (23-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) meets Vettori (18-5-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) on Sept. 3 at UFC Fight Night in Paris.

Whittaker has lost to Adesanya twice, making his chances for a third shot at “The Last Stylebender” slim. However, after seeing Max Holloway go down 0-2 against Alexander Volkanovski and getting a trilogy at UFC 276, Whittaker believes a similar scenario could play out for himself.

“I definitely think a trilogy is possible primarily because of the Holloway-Volkanovski trilogy fight going ahead,” Whittaker told Fox Sports Australia. “Especially considering how close my fight was with Izzy last time, I definitely think that is a very real possibility.”

Whittaker put up a much better effort in his rematch with Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC), a fight that he thought he did enough to win. The former UFC middleweight champion acknowledges that Vettori is durable but expects to overwhelm him.

“I think I’m going to be too much for him honestly,” Whittaker said. “I feel a lot better than he is across the board. Granted, he’s very tough, but I’ve fought tough people before and dismantled them.”

He continued, “The best Rob Whittaker beats anybody. I’m going to just hit him a lot and just hurt him. … He won’t be able to keep the tempo up. He’s not going to be able to handle it.”

Whittaker’s desire for a rubber match would require both men to win their next fights. Whittaker faces Vettori, while Adesanya will look to notch his fifth title defense when he takes on Jared Cannonier in the main event of UFC 276 on July 2.