Marvin Vettori thinks his former opponent deserves a title shot next and sees him beating the champ.
The UFC middleweight division is stacked from top to bottom. For many years there seemed to be the same few men at the top of the division, but now with the emergence of a new champion the entire field of men at 185 pounds has received new life. One man, in particular, may have benefitted from the crowning of champion Alex Pereira the most, the former champ, Robert Whittaker. Whittaker lost to Israel Adesanya twice, with those being his only losses in the past eight years. Now Whittaker might be next for the new champ, at least a former opponent of his thinks that should be the case.
Marvin Vettori is gearing up for his next fight against Roman Dolidze on March 18 at UFC 286 but is keeping a close eye on the division. He sees his former foe, Whittaker, as one of the best and is voting for him to get the first crack at Pereira.
Marvin Vettori thinks Robert Whittaker’s skills will match up nicely with Alex Pereira
Vettori faced Whittaker back in September in Paris. Both men brought their A-game but at the end of three rounds, it was Whittaker that came out with the unanimous decision. Now when asked what should be next for him by The Schmo on YouTube, Vettori put in a good word for his past opponent.
“I don’t know. Whittaker’s, I don’t know what they’re gonna make him do,” he said. “Whittaker, he’s beating a lot of people, he beat me the last fight, and yeah, man, the dude is solid. We’ll see. I think he’s deserved a title shot.”
Vettori believes that Whittaker can beat the new champion. He is basing this assessment on facts. Nobody other than Adesanya has defeated Whittaker in a long time and he is a former champion, so Vettori likes Whittaker’s chances if the fight with Pereira if next.
“I think Whittaker can do it,” he said. “Yeah, I think he can do it because of the grappling a little bit. And yeah, he’s a smart fighter, man. This guy’s he’s a smart fighter.”
Whittaker was scheduled to face Paulo Costa at UFC 284 in Perth Australia next month, but due to contract negotiations, Costa pulled out of the bout. Now it might be wise for Whittaker to wait around and perhaps be called to face the champion later in the year.
