Kelvin Gastelum believes Israel Adesanya will emerge triumphant in his middleweight title unification clash with Robert Whittaker.
Adesanya defeated Gastelum in a back-and-forth war at UFC 236 in April to become the interim middleweight champion. “The Last Stylebender” is now slated to take on Whittaker in an Australasian clash later this year. According to reports, it could happen at UFC 243 which is set to take place in Sydney, Australia, later this year.
Before their interim title fight, Gastelum was originally scheduled to face Whittaker, until the latter had to pull out through injury. But having gone five rounds with Adesanya, he believes the New Zealander will emerge victorious, which will set up a future rematch between them.
“It’s a hard one but Israel has my respect!” Gastelum wrote on Twitter in response to a fan question. “He really stepped up when I couldn’t! (A mistake I will never let happen again.) and showed a lot of heart and so I think he will pull it off and it will set up a rematch between him and I when I win my fight as well.”
Despite his setback against Adesanya, a win or two could see Gastelum get right back into the title picture. His current No. 4 ranking also helps as the likes of Jack Hermansson and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza have called for a fight with him next.
Who do you want to see Gastelum face next? And do you agree with his prediction?
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