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Israel Adesanya is reportedly set to face longtime rival Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 on February 12th, 2022. As reported by Raphael Marinho of Combate, the UFC is close to finalizing the matchup.
The first fight between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker took place at UFC 243 on October 6th, 2019. Adesanya entered the fight as the interim UFC middleweight champion, while Whittaker was the UFC middleweight champion.
The fight witnessed ‘The Last Stylebender’ put on a striking clinic. He dominated ‘The Reaper’ en route to a second-round KO win and became the new undisputed UFC middleweight champion.
Robert Whittaker returned to winning ways shortly after his one-sided loss to Israel Adesanya. He is currently on a three-fight win streak, with victories over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum. Whittaker’s most recent fight was a unanimous decision win over Gastelum at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum on April 2021.
Meanwhile, since beating Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya has continued his reign of dominance in the UFC middleweight division. The 32-year-old did, however, suffer a unanimous decision loss to Jan Blachowicz in an unsuccessful attempt to capture the UFC light heavyweight title. Apart from that, he has never been beaten in his professional MMA career.
Since knocking out Robert Whittaker for the undisputed UFC middleweight title, Israel Adesanya has gone 3-1 inside the octagon. He’s picked up wins over Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori. He has only lost to Blachowicz.
Adesanya’s most recent fight was a unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori in their rematch at UFC 263 in June 2021.
Israel Adesanya looks to end his rivalry with Robert Whittaker on a dominant note
In a video uploaded to his official YouTube channel earlier this year, Israel Adesanya suggested that his next mission is “to f*** Rob Whittaker up.” He stated:
"I told everyone I thought I was gonna be UFC champion. That way the method to my madness is I can't eat my own words. I have to do everything in my power to make that happen so I've done those things and I've got future goals as well. The next one is definitely to f*** Rob Whittaker up."
As of now, the UFC is yet to officially announce the duo’s rematch for UFC 271.
