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Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker are scheduled to meet in a rematch for the middleweight title at UFC 271. No.6-ranked contender Jack Hermansson recently gave his prediction for the upcoming title fight.
According to Hermansson, Whittaker will bring a tougher fight for Adesanya compared to their first outing. That being said, 'The Joker' still expects Adesanya to retain his title. In an interview with LowKick MMA, Hermansson said:
"It's gonna be a good one and I feel like it's gonna be a tougher fight for Adesanya this time. Whittaker has definitely done some adjustments and I wouldn't be surprised if Whittaker is gonna use his wrestling a little bit more... But I see Adesanya coming out as the winner."
Watch Hermansson's interview with LowKick MMA below:
Israel Adesanya holds a perfect professional record, barring a failed bid to become double champ against Jan Blachowicz. Many believe Blachowicz's dominant wrestling against Adesanya exposed a chink in his armor.
However, Hermansson believes taking Adesanya down is easier said than done. According to 'The Joker', Adesanya might easily be able to recover from takedowns and go on to hurt Whittaker.
Robert Whittaker believes Israel Adesanya is beatable
Israel Adesanya has delivered some flawless performances over the years, completely decimating his opponents while barely taking any damage himself. However, Robert Whittaker believes that was not the case in the champ's last fight against Marvin Vettori.
According to 'The Reaper', Adesanya's performance against Vettori made him believe that the champion is beatable. Whittaker told Ariel Helwani:
"I guess my overarching feeling of that fight was that I can beat him. I can beat him. Marvin was landing shots on him and I'm a better striker than Marvin. And like Marvin was getting takedowns and my timing is better for takedowns than Marvin. I think I can beat him. He just looked beatable. There are some fights he's had where he just looked untouchable – that Costa fight, he looked unbelievable there. And then he fought Marvin and then I just thought he can be beaten."
Catch Robert Whittaker's appearance on The MMA Hour below:
