At the moment, the UFC middleweight division is one of the most interesting divisions in the promotion. A lot of things changed when Israel Adesanya beat his longtime rival, Alex Pereira, in UFC 287. ‘The Last Stylebender’ decided to take a huge risk and fight against ‘Poatan’, who he had fought three times before. In all the previous matches, it was the Brazilian fighter who emerged victorious. Things changed upside down when ‘Stylebender’ won the fourth time via knockout in the second round. Now, he is the reigning UFC middleweight champion. Soon after the bout, the Brazilian fighter decided to move up, giving no hope for another bout against Adesanya. Now the opportunity to fight the middleweight champion will go to the winner between Robert Whittaker and Dricus du Plessis.

Whittaker is one of the strongest fighters on the UFC roster and was the former UFC middleweight champion. However, things changed for him when Adesanya entered the scene. Now, retired UFC legend Daniel Cormier explains how ‘The Reaper’ became the “spoiled apple” of the UFC because of ‘Stylebender’.

Daniel Cormier opens up about what went wrong in Robert Whittaker’s fighting career

Retired UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier was talking in the show DC and RC uploaded on the YouTube channel of ESPN MMA. During the conversation, he explained how Robert Whittaker would have reigned as the middleweight champion if Adesanya had never come to the UFC. He said, “Robert Whittaker is the spoiled apple in a bunch. Because nobody else can beat him but Israel Adesanya. I think that speaks who ‘The Reaper’ is in terms of him as a competitor in the middleweight division because RC, think about it this way Robert Whittaker has dominated everyone else in the weight class.“

DC further added, “He probably would still be the champion if Israel Adesanya never came along because nobody else has been able to beat him. He would have held that belt for like seven years and we’d be talking about him as one of the greatest of all time, but there’s an Israel Adesanya. He has another opportunity to put himself in a championship fight.” From the words of DC, it is clear that it was after Adesanya’s entry Robert Whittaker lost great opportunities in his fighting career. If ‘The Reaper’ became successful in winning at UFC 290, he would once again get the chance to fight for a title shot against Adesanya.

The bouts between ‘The Reaper’ and Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker first locked horns at UFC 243. The bout took place on October 5, 2019. Back then, ‘The Reaper’ was the UFC middleweight champion; however, he failed to retain his title in the bout. Adesanya put forth a ferocious battle and won the bout by a knockout in the second round. Later, the duo came face-to-face for a rematch at UFC 271. The bout was held on February 12, 2022. After a neck-to-neck fight, ‘Stylebender’ won the bout once again by unanimous decision.

READ MORE: Dricus du Plessis Claps Back at Israel Adesanya With a Grim 5-Word Message Days After the Middleweight Champ Picked Him to Win Against Robert Whittaker

Now, if Whittaker wins against Dricus du Plessis, he would be fighting against Adesanya in a trilogy bout. It would probably be Whittaker’s final opportunity to prove himself as one of the greatest UFC fighters. Are you waiting to watch the bout between Robert Whittaker and Dricus du Plessis? Do let us know in the comments below.

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