Robert Whittaker believes a rematch with Israel Adesanya is on the cards.
Whittaker made it three wins in a row following a unanimous decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum at the UFC Vegas 24 headliner last night.
Many observers felt he was deserving of a title shot before that fight and now, it’s even more so the case. For his part, Whittaker even called out Adesanya during his post-fight interview and believes he’s done his job now that everybody else is calling for that fight as well.
“It’s funny, after the win, everybody’s calling it for me,” Whittaker said at the post-fight press conference. “That’s kind of how I’ve always taken to the approach of fighting, is that if you beat ’em all, you’re eventually at the top.
“It’s a simple path, and there is no other fight that makes sense for me other than that tile shot, and that’s the shot that I want and that I’m getting. … I think the borders in New Zealand are the best they’ve ever been, so September, I think we can get a packed out stadium there and just once again pump the industry down there and MMA as a whole.”
Whittaker Okay With Adesanya Trash Talk
Following Whittaker’s win over Gastelum, Adesanya took to social media to mockingly congratulate him.
“Good job my son.”
Good job my son.
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) April 18, 2021
Whittaker, however, had no problem with it — especially given how their first meeting panned out back in 2019.
“I’ve played video games my entire life; I am no stranger to trash talk,” Whittaker said. “And you know, honestly, he gets to do it. He won the last fight between us both, so I guess it was coming, right? It’s just him being him, I guess.”
One thing is for sure — it would certainly be a travesty if Whittaker didn’t end up getting the next title shot.
