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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 06: The refereee stops the bout between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker during UFC 243 at Marvel Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 06: The refereee stops the bout between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker during UFC 243 at Marvel Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Dan Hooker reveals an advantage his teammate and compatriot Israel Adesanya holds over his opponent, Robert Whittaker.
‘The Last Stylebender’ has been dominating the middleweight division of the UFC ever since he set foot into the octagon of the world’s biggest MMA promotion. However, many fans speculate that his rematch with ‘The Reaper’ will be a totally different story.
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But ‘The Hangman’ disagrees. According to Hooker, Adesanya holds an immense advantage over Whittaker or any fighter on the UFC roster, that is, his 100+ fights kickboxing career, something that has helped the ‘Stylebender’ remain undefeated in his primary division.
“It’s incredibly hard… To see someone out striking Israel. Just like we were talking about blood diamond. Like that amount of ring time… That amount of understanding of the game, like having that much experience within our sport, is like absolutely incredible.”
“It’s like once you get to the UFC and you are in the top echelon like says, let’s say you’ve only ever fought like myself, only ever fought like professional MMA and then you fight your first guy of a certain style.”
“Imagine like it’s the first time you are fighting like a Dustin Poirier, like a pressure-fighting boxer. Southpaw. You are having to do that in a main event of UFC. Like that’s the first time you’ve ever seen.”
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“But you go back to like Israel’s catalog. He can go back into his hundred kickboxing fights like ‘Oh, I’ve fought a heavy punching, southpaw pressure fighter eight times. Well, I can refer to my history of that and how I dealt with that, and what I learned from those eight times. Take it into that main event. So, it’s a whole different level of experience.”
When is UFC 271: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker?
Israel Adesanya will lock horns with Robert Whittaker in their rematch on February 12, 2022, at the main event of the second UFC pay-per-view of the year, UFC 271. The venue for the fight is the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
The fight card is co-headlined by a heavyweight fight between fan favorites, Tai Tuivasa and Houston native Derrick Lewis.
WATCH THIS STORY-UFC 271: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2: Date, Time, Venue, Tickets, and Live Stream
Do you think what Dan Hooker said is true? Is Israel Adesanya on his way to dethrone Anderson Silva as the middleweight GOAT? Let us know in the comments below.
