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Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker recently praised Jan Blachowicz for implementing an effective gameplan against Israel Adesanya in the light-heavyweight title clash at UFC 259 last month.
Following a back and forth five-round battle, Jan Blachowicz churned out a unanimous decision victory by utilising his superior ground game. Robert Whittaker, who lost his middleweight title to Adesanya at UFC 243, believes Jan Blachowicz did enough to win the bout on the judges' scorecards.
"I thought it was a good fight. I thought Jan fought really well. I thought the gameplan was quite well put together with Jan. Yeah, I thought it was a close fight but I think Jan certainly did enough to win that fight and control it," said Whittaker.
Since his loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243, Robert Whittaker has consecutively defeated two top middleweight contenders, making a solid case for another title shot. After observing Adesanya's performance at UFC 259, 'The Reaper' feels he is ready to share the Octagon with the Kiwi champion once again.
"I'll keep that up my sleeve... it's a hard fight regardless. And every fight is different, especially when you get different opponents, different matchups. But, you know, he can be beaten," said Whittaker.
Robert Whittaker predicted that Israel Adesanya would win at UFC 259
Following Israel Adesanya's victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 253, speculation about 'The Last Stylebender's' making the jump to light-heavyweight started doing the rounds.
In an interview with Submission Radio last November, Robert Whittaker predicted that Israel Adesanya would capture the 205-pounds belt and become a two-division champion. Whittaker had picked the middleweight champion to win the bout as he believed Jan Blachowicz lacked the speed to manage Adesanya's striking.
"His striking is so much better. Jan’s got that big power, but Israel (Adesanya) doesn’t get hit that much. I think this is a picture-perfect fight for him to get the belt away from the division,” said Whittaker. (H/T Essentially Sports).
Robert Whittaker is set to face Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Vegas 24. The former champion is riding high on a two-fight winning streak. With another victory on 17th April, Whittaker will be back in contention for the middleweight title.
