Robert Whittaker News

Cole Shelton - February 1, 2022

Israel Adesanya believes his rematch against Robert Whittaker is another easy paycheck. Adesanya is looking to defend his middleweight title for the fourth time as he rematches Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271 in a very intriguing matchup. The first time they fought, Adesanya scored a second-round TKO to become the new champ and he expects the rematch to be just as easy.

Harry Kettle - January 27, 2022

Robert Whittaker has admitted that he enjoys being the underdog heading into his UFC 271 rematch against Israel Adesanya. After more than two years of waiting, Robert Whittaker will finally get the chance for revenge when he challenges Israel Adesanya next month for the UFC middleweight championship. In their initial bout, at UFC 243, many fans and pundits couldn’t decide who was going to come out on top – but “The Last Stylebender” definitely seems to have the advantage with the bookmakers after how dominant he was in their first meeting.

Harry Kettle - January 24, 2022

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced the main card for UFC 271 with Derrick Lewis vs Tai Tuivasa serving as the co-main event. Next month in Houston, the UFC will put on their second pay-per-view of the year with the headline attraction being Israel Adesanya vs Robert Whittaker 2 for the UFC middleweight title. However, despite that being an incredible main event, it’s worth noting that there are plenty of other intriguing contests set to go down at the Toyota Center.

Susan Cox - January 11, 2022

UFC 271 features a middleweight title fight rematch between Robert Whittaker (23-5 MMA) and Israel Adesanya (21-1 MMA) and goes down February 12th at the Toyota Center in Houston. Losing his title to Adesanya back in October 2019 at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia, Whittaker is aiming to reclaim his belt and recently spoke to ‘MMA Junkie‘ about what went wrong with his first fight:

Susan Cox - December 30, 2021

Israel Adesanya has sent a warning to Robert Whittaker ahead of their highly anticipated rematch at UFC 271. Adesanya (21-1 MMA) and Whittaker (23-5 MMA) are set to clash for the second time on February 12th in Houston with the promotions coveted middleweight title up for grabs.

Harry Kettle - December 14, 2021

UFC president Dana White has reacted angrily to Israel Adesanya’s implication that his rematch with Robert Whittaker isn’t a done deal. Dana White has often been involved in verbal spats with fighters and, most of the time, the exchanges take place indirectly. This serves as yet another example of that with Israel Adesanya using a “cap” symbol to indicate he believes Dana White and the UFC are lying about his Robert Whittaker rematch being signed, sealed and delivered. The pair are currently set to clash at UFC 271 but Adesanya seems to disagree with the current state of play.

Susan Cox - December 1, 2021

A highly anticipated rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker is apparently in jeopardy for UFC 271. Adesanya (21-1 MMA) and Whittaker (23-5 MMA) had originally squared off for the promotions undisputed middleweight title in October of 2019, with ‘Stylebender’ emerging victorious by way of a second round knockout.

Adam D Martin - October 6, 2021

Two title fights featuring Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane and Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2 are being targeted for UFC 270. According to the French outlet “La Sueur,” UFC 270 is being planned to take place on January 22 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight is not official yet, but the UFC plans on having the UFC heavyweight title unified that night between the champ Ngannou and the interim champ Gane. As for the co-main event, the plan is to have to rematch between Adesanya and Whittaker. Overall, with these two title fights at the top of the bill, UFC 270 is shaping up to be a stacked card already. MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter added the following:

Chris Taylor - August 14, 2021

The highly anticipated UFC middleweight title fight rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker has reportedly been pushed back until 2022. Dana White and company were originally looking to book Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2 for the main event of UFC 268 on November 6 at Madision Square Garden in New York. However, the States new pandemic-related restrictions have forced the promotion to make a change of plans.

Chris Taylor - July 3, 2021

Robert Whittaker admits that he let his emotions get the best of him in his first fight with Israel Adesanya at UFC 243. Whittaker (23-5 MMA) and Adesanya (21-1 MMA) squared off for the promotions undisputed middleweight title in October of 2019, with ‘Stylebender’ emerging victorious by way of second round knockout.

Adam D Martin - June 21, 2021

Robert Whittaker dubbed UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya’s UFC 263 performance as average, and “The Last Stylebender” responded. Adesanya defeated rival Marvin Vettori in the pair’s rematch as last weekend’s UFC 263 pay-per-view event in Glendale, Arizona. Adesanya was able to utilize his superior striking and showed improvements in his grappling as he was able to win a unanimous decision over the Italian. Vettori, of course, only got the title shot against Adesanya after Whittaker was forced to decline it due to the fight’s close proximity to his matchup against Kelvin Gastelum in April. With Whittaker unable to take the fight at that time, Vettori stepped up and got the title shot instead, only Adesanya was able to go in there and win handily.

Adam D Martin - June 17, 2021

UFC middleweight Kelvin Gastelum says Robert Whittaker has a “real chance at regaining that middleweight title” from champ Israel Adesanya. Gastelum has fought both Whittaker and Adesanya so he knows exactly what both men bring to the table. In the wake of Adesanya’s win over Marvin Vettori at UFC 263, which improved his record as a UFC middleweight to a perfect 10-0, the next fight to make for the 185lbs title seems to be Adesanya against Whittaker. And if you ask Gastelum what he thinks about that potential title fight, he thinks there’s a good chance the champ loses.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Robert Whittaker was criticized by coach Eugene Bareman for turning down a title shot against Israel Adesanya. After defeating Kelvin Gastelum in lopsided fashion at UFC Vegas 24, it was fully expected that Whittaker would get the next title shot against Adesanya. However, the promotion announced that it will be Marvin Vettori who next takes on Adesanya at UFC 263 on June 12. Whittaker later explained the reasons that he was unable to go so soon because he’s banged up, and the UFC decided to go with Vettori. But for Bareman, it was a bad call.

Cole Shelton - April 29, 2021

Robert Whittaker put on a dominant performance over Kelvin Gastelum on April 17 and did so while fighting with an injury. Whittaker was supposed to face Paulo Costa on the card but the Brazilian was forced out of the bout and Gastelum stepped up on short notice. However, when Whittaker arrived in Las Vegas and began training he tore ligaments in his hand. Even though he had torn ligaments in his hand, he still earned a dominant decision over Gastelum.

Chris Taylor - April 25, 2021

Robert Whittaker gave a hilarious response when asked if hoped Israel Adesanya would beat Marvin Vettori in their scheduled rematch at UFC 263. After Whittaker (23-5 MMA) scored a dominant victory over Kelvin Gastelum last weekend, which extended his current winning streak to three in a row, many fans expected that a rematch with reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya would be next for the Aussie.

Adam Martin - April 25, 2021

Robert Whittaker explained why it was impossible for him to accept a rematch with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 263. Whittaker defeated Kelvin Gastelum at last weekend’s UFC Vegas 24 event to improve to 3-0 since losing his belt to Adesanya at UFC 243. The Aussie was widely expected to be next in line to fight for the title, but the UFC did an about-face this week and gave Marvin Vettori the title shot instead. That decision led to a lot of chatter amongst fight fans, who believed that Whittaker should have been the next man in line. But according to Whittaker, he actually was offered the fight, only the conditions made the fight impossible to take.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Robert Whittaker issued a statement following his unanimous decision win over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Vegas 24. In one of his most complete performances to date, Whittaker won a lopsided unanimous decision in the main event of this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 24 card. Whittaker outstruck Gastelum on the feet and he also utilized his wrestling in order to mix things up and take Gastelum out of his element. It was one of Whittaker’s best performances in the Octagon to date as he picked up his third straight victory. It was the kind of win that could earn him a title shot rematch against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in his next fight.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2021

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has opened up as a big favorite for a potential rematch against No. 1 contender Robert Whittaker. Whittaker defeated Kelvin Gastelum at this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 24 event in dominant fashion. The Aussie used a combination of grappling and striking to outpoint Gastelum for 25 minutes and take home the decision. Prior to beating Gastelum, Whittaker had won decisions over Jared Cannonier and Darren Till, so he is currently riding a three-fight win streak and that could possibly be enough for him to get another title shot at 185.