‘My Next Fight Has to Be for the Title’- Robert Whittaker Makes a Huge Statement Ahead of Israel Adesanya’s Next Title Defense

Published 05/19/2021, 8:48 AM EDT

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is back on top of the division. He beat Kelvin Gastelum in his last fight to convince the UFC faithful that he is still the man who should be fighting at the top level of the business.

After losing his title to the current champion Israel Adesanya, he has won three fights in a row and has shown everyone that he is still a force to reckon with. Whittaker appeared on a talk show for Fox Sports Australia and sat down in an interview to discuss his fighting style.

The interviewer asked him about his amazing run and said, “You’ve won your last three, haven’t ya?” Whittaker said yes, and the interviewer asked him about his next fight. “So, who’s on the list next? Who would you like to fight?” he asked.

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Whittaker brought their attention to the title fight between Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori. They are fighting in the main event of UFC 263. “I’m looking for the winner of this Adesanya and Vettori fight. They’re fighting for the title, just cause the timing didn’t work, but my next fight has to be for the title. I’ve beaten the top contenders, and there’s no one left,” Whittaker said.

Vettori won the title shot after he beat rising middleweight star Kevin Holland in a dominant fashion. He didn’t get the finish but utilized his wrestling to stifle Holland’s offense and won the match via a unanimous decision. While on the other hand, Adesanya moved up to light heavyweight to fight for the title against Jan Blachowicz, but he lost the fight.

Robert Whittaker and his prospects in the middleweight division

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Whittaker’s win over Gastelum would have made him the favorite for an immediate title shot, but the injuries he sustained in the fight ruled a quick turnaround out for him. Vettori was on hand to take advantage of this. However, he is surely the fighter who is next in line.

Depending on how the UFC 263 fight goes, Whittaker will get an immediate match with the champion barring some unlikely circumstances. He definitely deserves the shot after all the good work that he has put in. He’s currently ranked number 1 in the official UFC rankings for middleweight, and rightly so.

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Written by:

Aniket Awasthi is a UFC author at EssentiallySports. This STEM undergraduate combines an insatiable urge to write with his admiration for MMA and the UFC in general to enhance his journalism. He calls charismatic names like Chael Sonnen and 'The Count' Michael Bisping as his favorite fighters, but he is a great admirer of the rise of Israel Adesanya ever since he fought Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221.

‘My Next Fight Has to Be for the Title’- Robert Whittaker Makes a Huge Statement Ahead of Israel Adesanya’s Next Title Defense

Robert Whittaker and his prospects in the middleweight division

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