Former UFC Champion Robert Whittaker was supposed to take on the powerhouse, Paulo Costa on April 17th, however that fight was quickly erased.
Costa, just a month before the fight, would withdraw from the matchup due to a battle with severe flu.
AG Fight would break the news on Monday morning.
There is hopes in rebooking the top contender bout. One thing that is on the table is rescheduling the fight to May 1 or May 8. However, “The Reaper” may reap some other plans.
Team Whittaker has reportedly asked for a rematch with Israel Adesanya for the Middleweight title, per Sporting News. Adesanya, who just lost at UFC 259 to Jan Blachowicz has promised he will return to his home at 185.
Winning two fights against top contenders, Jared Cannonier and Darren Till since his loss to the current champ, Whittaker looks to seize this opportunity to gain redemption and his strap back.
However, Team Adesanya has expressed that they are not interested in running it back with the Aussie just yet.
“How is Robert the frontrunner when, you know, I don’t want to say bad things about Robert, but it wasn’t a competitive fight.” said coach Eugene Bareman. “Like, he didn’t touch us. So how is that the frontrunner for the next fight? The [Whittaker] fight wasn’t competitive.”
“The frontrunner for us is the biggest challenge, and at the moment, it seems to be that Darren Till could have a style that possibly gives Israel a few problems.’’
Although Whittaker already beat Darren Till, team Adesanya looks forward to the Englishman as their next challenge, leaving Whittaker like a stood-up date for a dance.
Do you want to see Robert Whittaker rematch Israel Adesanya?