Robert Whittaker believes he can exploit Israel Adesanya if he slips up.
Whittaker will face Adesanya in a middleweight title rematch in the UFC 271 headliner taking place later this month.
Their first meeting took place back in October 2019 where Whittaker was quite simply outclassed by Adesanya on the feet, as he was dropped twice en route to a second-round knockout defeat.
Given the nature of the win and the fact that Adesanya did it to Whittaker, many felt “The Last Stylebender” was virtually unbeatable.
However, Adesanya has since suffered his first professional defeat after getting outpointed by Jan Blachowicz in their light heavyweight title fight last year.
Adesanya was notably outwrestled and outgrappled by Blachowicz leading many, including Whittaker, to believe he was indeed beatable.
“Obviously when he lost to Jan. Everyone knew he was beatable then, cause he got beat,” Whittaker told Submission Radio. “But, there were just stylistically, I could see some angles that Jan could capitalize on that I thought, you know what, maybe I can capitalize on those as well.
“And again when he fought for Vettori I thought the same thing. I saw places where Vettori took advantage, spaces were Vettori took advantage of, and I thought, well, I can do that better.”
Robert Whittaker Will Try To Force Mistakes On Israel Adesanya
Adesanya will certainly not take those comments from Whittaker well.
However, “The Reaper” means no disrespect to Adesanya nor is he claiming that the champion has huge gaping holes.
But with that said, Whittaker believes he has what it takes to capitalize on any mistake Adesanya makes.
“And that’s not to say that he’s got huge gaping holes. He’s the champion for a reason, he’s bloody good at his craft,” Whittaker added. “But I just feel like I have a skillset that if he slips up, I’m going to take everything away from him. And I look to try and make him make a mistake.”
UFC 271 takes place February 12 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
You can watch the full interview below:
