Robert Whittaker sees Israel Adesanya trilogy 'inevitable', disagrees with UFC 271 decision loss

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HOUSTON – Robert Whittaker doesn’t think it’s over.

The former UFC middleweight champion feels a third fight with Israel Adesanya is bound to happen once again despite him being 0-2 against the champion.

Whittaker (23-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) lost for a second time against Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) this Saturday in the main event of UFC 271. The two fought for 25 minutes and a unanimous decision was awarded to Adesanya, as he scored 48–47, 48–47, and 49–46 on the three judges’ scorecards.

Whittaker disagrees with the decision and strongly believes he did enough to get the win.

“I thought I did enough, I thought I did enough,” Whittaker told MMA Junkie at the post-fight press conference. “Breaking it down, I think I lost the first round. I put myself together and I beat him to every punch. I got takedowns. I thought I did enough.



“But it is what it is. That’s how work goes in the office. I’m going to go back evolve some more, get better, and fine tune the things that I’ve been working on, and come back a better man. Honestly, though, Izzy was my biggest obstacle, my biggest hurdle. He beat me in a good fashion the first time. I’ve been working and angling myself to evolve and to get better and I’ve done that. You can see it in this fight how far I’ve come. To the point that I think I beat him.

“So, I’m excited. I’m excited for the future. The ceiling is nowhere in sight. There is no ceiling for me.”

Whittaker had fought three times and defeated top contenders Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum after losing his belt to Adesanya at UFC 243 in 2019.

The 31-year-old has no problem doing the same and expects to see Adesanya once more.

“A third fight between me and Izzy is inevitable because I’m going to stomp anyone that comes in front of me again,” Whittaker said. “He knows that too that’s why he said he’ll be seeing me in the future. I don’t see him losing the belt any time soon. He is good. He is good. I think I’m the person to beat him. And my mission stays the same, beat the next guy in front of me.”

https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2022...aker-sees-israel-adesanya-triology-inevitable
 
Definitely thought he could’ve won 3 rounds. How you perceive the scoring criteria is subjective, though. Fight was close and didn’t blow anybody away.

Israel remains relatively unimpressive, as far as defending champions go.
 
Hopefully not, they’re both too technical and cautious to create an entertaining matchup. Even if you enjoy technical matchups, this was not entertaining. Izzy only really damaged Whittaker in round 1 and Whittaker didn’t inflict any damage on Izzy the entire fight.

Let’s get some fresh blood in this boring division, please.
 
I hope he destroys everybody on his path but I see unlikely he gets another TS, let alone beating Adesanya.
 
I told my gf anything from 49-46 Izzy to 48-47 Whittaker was reasonable depending how the judges scored it. So he’s not delusional, imo. But he has to do more if he gets the opportunity. Especially in regards to controlling a guy you’ve taken down. If he could have done that with any of the TD he had in any of the rounds he lost. He would have deserved to win that fight.

But he most likely needs to win another 3 in a row for sure. If he remains committed and keeps beating everybody he fights. It’s totally possible he gets another shot. Especially if Borz manages to beat Izzy.
 
at this point, he needs to beat izzy convincingly, not gonna happen on points, where Izzy can take that route and be ok. Long established champ, you gotta beat the champ to become champ
 
Although both fights were close....he still lost by a close margin which doesn't warrant a third fight. two more solid wins before a rematch IMO.
 
No, lol. Far from inevitable…a rubbermatch is inevitable but good luck pushing for a third fight when you are 0-2. It’s highly unlikely.
 
EndlessCritic said:
huh? His only unimpressive defence was against Yoel. His other defences were clear wins against elite opposition.
Click to expand...
If you think losing two rounds in a defence is impressive, I have to disagree. 50-45 is impressive. 48-47 is a close win.
 
Izzy is hyped to space and back by UFC, Bobby had to win in a convincing fashion.

That being said the crowd hated the decision and personally I had it 48-47 Whittaker.
 
UFC scoring is arbitrary

If the judges valued what the fighters did exactly like they did with Sandhagen/Dillashaw then Whittaker should've won 3-2

If the judges in the dillashaw/sandhagen valued what the fighters did exactly like this fight then Sandhagen should've won

The most agregious version was GSP vs Hendricks when each round take downs got scored differently lol
 
I was rooting for Rob and it was hard to watch it go 5 rounds in a relatively boring fight and LOSE the decision. But, while it was close, I'd have a hard time scoring 3 rounds for Rob.

That said, I could definitely see a trilogy if Izzy stays at MW for a couple more years. I don't see anyone else beating Rob.

I do think Jared could score an upset on Izzy but I'd favor Izzy in that fight (despite my bias with Jared's alaska ties). I also think Jared vs. Rob 2 would be a much closer fight.

HockeyBjj said:
It's not called a trilogy when one has won twice

It's just a 3rd fight
Click to expand...

Explain that logic... lol.
Weird thing to say bro.
 
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