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Speaking to the media at the UFC 254 post-fight press conference, former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker opened up on his victorious performance on the night. Additionally, Whittaker weighed in on a potential rematch with Israel Adesanya.
Robert Whittaker put on a brilliant performance at UFC 254, defeating feared KO artist Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision over the course of three grueling rounds.
Whittaker’s previous fight was a unanimous decision win over Darren Till earlier this year. The former has now managed to string together a two-fight winning streak by picking up back-to-back wins against Till and Cannonier respectively.
Robert Whittaker asserted that he’s very happy about his performance in the UFC 254 matchup against Jared Cannonier. Whittaker added that he had the discipline to stick with the game-plan and it paid off, as he successfully overcame the challenge posed by Cannonier.
Besides, in response to a query as to whether he was hurt by Cannonier in round three of their fight, Whittaker noted that he wasn’t really hurt and was very much in control against Cannonier.
Robert Whittaker emphasized that he was well aware of the fact that Cannonier’s very resilient, and he knew he wasn’t going to put the latter away. Therefore, he ensured that he’d at least make Cannonier pay by peppering him with strikes whenever the latter got aggressive.
Furthermore, Whittaker explained that he intends to return to the Octagon in March or April of 2021.
Robert Whittaker suggested that he’d be open to competing in a rematch against Israel Adesanya,
Robert Whittaker noted that Adesanya is a hard fight and that the latter looked even better in his last bout.
“He beat me once already. But I feel like I’ve got a couple of tricks I can roll out. I feel like I can play it differently this time.”
Israel Adesanya has consistently claimed that he intends to fight at Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight too.
On that note, Whittaker revealed that he wouldn’t begrudge Adesanya in case the latter chooses to move up to the Light Heavyweight division or makes any such decision for that matter.
“I do want to fight him (Israel Adesanya) one day, whether it’s in my career or in the parking lot as two old fellows one day. Yeah, I feel like our paths will cross again. And as a warrior, it’s something I need to do. But I’m not worried about who I fight next. My whole mentality with this game is that you line them up and I’ll knock them down. I’m pretty good at that.” (*Video courtesy: TheMacLife; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Would you like to see Robert Whittaker face Israel Adesanya in a rematch? Sound off in the comments.
