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Robert Whittaker feels he rightfully deserves another shot against Israel Adesanya.
Robert Whittaker says it’s his right to rematch Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title next.
Whittaker lost the belt to Adesanya at UFC 243 in November of last year. “The Reaper” has since won consecutive decisions against Darren Till and most recently Jared Cannonier. Meanwhile, the undefeated Adesanya has defended his title against Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa.
The Australian says he was never offered the rematch with Adesanya before the middleweight champion made it clear he will move up to light heavyweight and fight Jan Blachowicz for the title next.
“That fight was never offered to me,” Whittaker said on What the Heck. “There wasn’t even talks up in the air. There was no correspondence at all and I guess that’s the most confusing factor and the most annoying part about the whole mess. There was no discussion. There was no communication. There was no dialogue. That’s annoying.”
Dana White claimed that Whittaker didn’t want to fight Adesanya again, which Whittaker has flatly denied.
Having just defeated Cannonier, Whittaker doesn’t see any other fight at 185-pounds that makes sense for him. Other than Paulo Costa, who lost to Adesanya in September, there a lack of clear contenders for Whittaker to fight next.
“The title fight is my right after beating Jared because that’s the type of fight it was is a contender fight. That’s the fight I earned. But I have to be there for my family and my kids and the newest member that’s going to be joining my family in January. That’s my highest priority right now is getting my timeline out there and then work around that.”