Robert Whittaker wants Israel Adesanya to be the man he beats to regain the UFC middleweight championship.
At first, Whittaker (24-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) admits it was just about getting his belt back. But after watching Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) avenge his loss to Alex Pereira by knockout in this past Saturday’s UFC 287 headliner, he’s eager for a trilogy bout.
Whittaker lost his middleweight title to Adesanya by knockout at UFC 243. He got an opportunity to exact his revenge when the pair rematched at UFC 271, but Whittaker fell short in a close decision loss.
“I guess a big thing that I realized is just how bad I want to fight Izzy,” Whittaker told Submission Radio. “You know? And it wasn’t until the fight between Alex and Izzy had played out and was playing out that … if Alex would’ve won, I would’ve moved up to fight Alex. That was a pretty much a sure thing. Which is cool. I want that fight. I’m aiming for the belt. OK. But it’s not the same. I want to take the belt off Izzy. And it wasn’t until that might not have been a thing that I realized, hey, no, I really want to fight Izzy. Because since I’ve lost to Izzy, there’s been times people have asked me, ‘How bad do you want to fight Israel? Or do you just want to fight for the belt?’
“And I’ve always said, I don’t really care. I don’t really care. But no, I do care. I do care. And I’ve realized I care. I want to fight Izzy for the belt, and I want to take the belt off Izzy. That’s what I want to do. I do have a lot of respect for his skillset, and I’ve mentioned that before. I’ve mentioned it to his face. But I know it’s a puzzle I can work out, and it excites me. The challenge of trying to beat him, of getting back the belt from him, it’s a driving force for me. I enjoy that, and I’m never gonna stop hunting him. Ever. Ever. That’s just what I want to do until I get that W back from him. That’s what I want.”
Having lost to Adesanya twice, Whittaker knows it won’t be easy to get a third shot. But regardless of how long it takes, Whittaker is happy to continue knocking off contenders until it’s his turn again.
“I’m in a tricky position,” Whittaker said. “I’m in a tricky position. I know this. Especially with Izzy winning that fight. I know the path that UFC had was for Pereira to win, me to fight Pereira, beat Pereira, Izzy to fight me. That’s the rematch they wanted. That’s how they wanted it to happen. I’m pretty sure. And I’m not 100 percent sure. I can’t read their minds. But it sounds good in my head. Now, Izzy’s won. Where does that leave me? I don’t think Pereira’s staying in middleweight. I think he’s moving up. He would. You would think so anyway. So, where does that leave me? Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Robert Whittaker keen to take UFC title from Israel Adesanya: ‘I’m never gonna stop hunting him’