Keeping an eye on Adesanya, Whittaker believes in a mentally broken champion after defeat to Blachowicz

R. Whittaker (left) was defeated by I. Adesanya (right) in 2019. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

One of the protagonists of UFC Las Vegas 24, which takes place this Saturday (17), Robert whittaker faces Kelvin Gastelum, but he really has his eye on his last tormentor, Israel adesanya. Willing to regain his position as UFC middleweight champion (up to 83,9 kg), the Australian believes that the Nigerian has 'weakened' after the defeat he suffered in the super fight against Jan Blachowicz, for the light heavyweight belt (up to 93kg.). In an interview with 'Combate', the 'Reaper' spoke about the subject.

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“I think his aura has been broken, so it will be interesting to see how this will impact his next fight, if at all. (…) I saw things that Blachowicz did that worked very well against Adesanya, and I kept some of those things with me to try to work on them later, but I'll worry about this fight when it's in front of me again.” , said Whittaker.

Middleweight champion between 2017 and 2019, Robert saw his reign fall apart precisely in the meeting against Adesanya, in the UFC 243. On that occasion, the Australian joined the list of victims of the Nigerian, who brutalized his rival with a knockout in the second round.

Since then, Whittaker has been looking for a rematch and could, once again, qualify for a title fight if he overcomes Kelvin this weekend. Initially, the former champion's opponent would be Paulo borrachinha, but the Brazilian ended up leaving the clash after contracting a bad flu, which interrupted his training.

At 30 years old, Robert now has a record of 27 performances. Professional in MMA since 2009, the Australian has 22 wins and seven losses in the sport.

Former challenger for the category's interim belt, Gastelum is trying to prove that he has recovered from a difficult phase in Ultimate. After overcoming a sequence of three defeats, the North American is looking for the second positive result in a row and could take an important leap forward in the division if he beats the Australian.