Robert Whittaker hits back at Israel Adesanya after the champ suggests he should move up to 205

Robert Whittaker believes there is a reason why Israel Adesanya wants him to move up to light heavyweight.

Recently, Adesanya came out and said he recommended Whittaker to move up to light heavyweight. To many, the move makes sense given Whittaker is 0-2 against Adesanya and the chances of getting another title shot seems unlikely for now. But, for the Aussie, he believes there is another reason why Adesanya wants that to happen.

“I’m the most dangerous person in the division and I threaten everyone, no-one is safe in this division and of course, he wants me to get out of there,” Whittaker told talkSPORT. “I’m the hunter and I want it. He saw after that last fight that I wanted it and I’m coming for it and I’m not gonna stop until I get it. It’s scary, just picture looking over your shoulder and seeing me there. I’m really happy where I am right now. I’m doing some good work in the middleweight division and the hunt to get the fight is fun in a way. I’m enjoying the idea of beating up everyone in front of me until they’re looking at a list with every name scratched off like, well, Rob’s left.”

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Robert Whittaker is remaining at middleweight as he’s set to face Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris. Should he win that fight, it’s likely he still will need a couple more wins before he can get another title shot, especially if Israel Adesanya remains the champ.

For now, Whittaker remains focused on fighting at middleweight but he says he isn’t ruling out a move to light heavyweight. If he does move up, however, he says it will be a permanent move.

“Who knows how fate is? Maybe I’ll give 205[Ibs] a go,” Whittaker said. “The only thing is though, 205 isn’t going to be an up-down system. If I go up to 205, that’s where I’m finishing up. I don’t do things half-cocked. I’ll do it properly. I’ll get massive and just get in there and throw bombs.”