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Robert Whittaker believes title challenger Israel Adesanya is not ready for him ahead of UFC 243’s title fight.
The UFC middleweight champion is confident in his abilities ahead of UFC 243’s title defense. In an interview with Combate, Robert Whittaker revealed to be eager to fight again in Melbourne and put on a better performance than his last one, when he edged out Yoel Romero via split decision.
Despite being away from the Octagon for over one year due to injuries, the ‘Reaper’ claims to feel much healthier now, and looks forward to step back in the cage for the first since June 2018.
“The last fight left a bitter taste in my mouth. To come back here with an even bigger fight is very rewarding for me. To be the protagonist of a title fight in a huge stadium, here in Melbourne, that means a lot to me. I’m happy for being able to do this.”
Although the undefeated Adesanya is currently on a 17-fight streak and has bested the likes of Anderson Silva and Kelvin Gastelum, that last one for the division’s interim title, Whittaker is confident that the ‘Last Stylebender’ will face defeat for the first time when they meet, claiming that Adesanya just has not took on someone like him.
“I think I’ll be too much for him. I’ll take him to a place he won’t feel comfortable; I’m going after him, I’ll hurt him. I’ll put my hands on him, let’s see how he handles that.”
Undefeated ever since he moved to the middleweight division, Whittaker (20-4) will look for his tenth straight win when he meets Adesanya. In this time, the 28-year-old beat notable names such as Yoel Romero, Ronaldo Souza, Derek Brunson and Uriah Hall. Robert’s last loss dates back February 2014, when he was TKO’d by welterweight contender Stephen Thompson.
Now, Whittaker is expected to take on Adesanya for the middleweight title unification fight at UFC 243, on October 6, in Melbourne, Australia,