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Robert Whittaker is one of the best middleweights in the world. The former champion has faced some of the very best at 185 pounds and has more often than not come out on top. ‘The Reaper’ most recently won his fight against Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision. 

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Following his win, it was understood that he had cemented himself as the number one contender and would get a rematch with ‘Izzy’. However, Dana White recently confirmed that Israel Adesanya would move up to 205 pounds to challenge Jan Blachowicz. So Robert Whittaker would not be getting his title shot anytime soon. 

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Read: BREAKING: Dana White reveals massive news for Israel Adesanya- Will fight for light heavyweight title

Robert Whittaker rubbishes Dana White’s recent statements

In a recent interview, Mike Bohn from MMA Junkie asked ‘The Reaper’ what he made of Dana White’s recent statements. Whittaker replied saying, “Yeah, I certainly think he took a little twist to what I said. I never said I don’t want to fight ‘Izzy’. That’s not something I said… I’m looking to fight March/ April next year. I would like to fight Izzy, If he is moving up to fight Jan then, I’ll move up and fight him there. 

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Whittaker continued, “I want that fight. I do want that fight.  It’s just we had to work it into the timeline, which is March/ April next year. I have no control over what the UFC is going to do or what ‘Izzy; is going to do. Whether he is here at middleweight or at light heavyweight,  I’ll take the fight to him.”

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Following his loss to Adesanya, Whittaker took almost a year off. In his return to the sport, he secured impressive wins over top ten opponents in Darren Till and Jared Cannonier. After his win against Cannonier, White said a rematch with Israel makes sense. 

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However, Whittaker himself said he was in no hurry to face ‘Izzy’ as he knew a title fight was inevitable. The former champion also stated that they never contacted him for a possible fight with Israel, and his statements were misinterpreted. 

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Read: Robert Whittaker says title shot against Israel Adesanya inevitable 

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The UFC president recently confirmed that ‘The Last Style Bender’ would be moving up in weight as Robert Whittaker did not want to fight him. Both men have made contrasting statements regarding the situation. This is not the first time it has happened in the UFC, nor will it be the last. 

Do you think Dana White was right in his statement about Whittaker? Or were Robert’s comments taken out of context?

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Kevin Binoy

1,289 Articles

Kevin Binoy is a senior UFC author at EssentiallySports. He earned a Bachelor's degree from Fergusson College and has been covering sports professionally for over two years. Besides working with the MMA desk, Kevin is a core member of the organization's web stories team and is responsible for delivering engaging MMA web stories.

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