Anthony Smith: Robert Whittaker Is Better Than Israel Adesanya, But Won’t Win A Trilogy

Despite viewing Whittaker as the superior fighter, Smith can't see the former beating Adesanya in a trilogy fight.

Robert Whittaker Adesanya
(via Instagram)

Anthony Smith rates Robert Whittaker as the superior fighter to Israel Adesanya.

Whittaker is coming off an impressive unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris this past weekend.

It only served to highlight that Whittaker, along with Adesanya, reign supreme over the rest of the middleweight pack.

Unfortunately for Whittaker, he has already lost twice to Adesanya.

“The Reaper” suffered a second-round knockout to lose his middleweight title to Adesanya back in 2019. He would then get outpointed in a much closer contest in their rematch earlier this year.

Despite those losses, UFC light heavyweight Smith believes Whittaker still has the superior skill-set compared to Adesanya.

“I do not think Robert Whittaker is the second-best middleweight in the UFC. I think he is the best middleweight,” Smith said on MMA on SiriusXM. “I think skill-set wise, he is better almost everywhere than Israel Adesanya. I think Israel is more effective in some of the things that he does.

“I think stylistically, there’s sometimes those guys who are just kind of your kryptonite.”

Anthony Smith Can’t See ‘Better’ Robert Whittaker Beating Israel Adesanya

If Whittaker keeps winning, it will be hard to deny him a third fight with Adesanya.

But such is the uniqueness of the situation that even if a trilogy were to happen, Smith can’t see Whittaker beating Adesanya despite being the “better” fighter.

“But if you just break down their skillsets, I think Robert Whittaker is better,” Smith added. “I’ve watched them both several times live in-person. I don’t think he beats him a third time but I don’t think Israel is the better fighter.

“It’s weird right? This doesn’t come along like that, those kind of scenarios.”

You can listen to the interview snippet below:

Published on September 6, 2022 at 9:48 pm
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