Adesanya v Whittaker: Tasman
The ‘Last Stylebender’ returns to defend his crown in a highly-anticipated rematch in Texas, writes Sam Wilson.
Following an unsuccessful foray at light-heavyweight last year that resulted in a first career defeat, Israel Adesanya has returned to the weight class where he reigns supreme.
The Kiwi-Nigerian will make the fourth defence of his UFC middleweight crown in Texas this afternoon (NZT) against a familiar foe in New Zealand-born Australian fighter Robert Whittaker (23-5).
The pair first met in the Octagon back in October 2019, when the ‘Last Stylebender’ silenced a hostile crowd of 57,127 at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium with a stunning second-round KO to become the undisputed middleweight champion of the world.
Three years on, Adesanya and Whittaker are set to resume their rivalry in the main event at UFC 271 in Houston.
Here’s all you need to know about their high-stakes rematch and the rest of a stacked card at the Toyota Center.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
In simple terms, just Adesanya’s world middleweight title and supremacy at 185lb. But after signing a ‘‘crazy’’ multi-fight UFC contract earlier this week that makes him one of the sport’s highest paid stars, there is added pressure on Adesanya’s shoulders to prove that he is worthy of such a ‘‘f .. king big deal’’.
Adesanya insists he’s motivated by legacy not money, and another conclusive win over a fighter of Whittaker’s stature would burnish his reputation as one of the UFC’s marquee names. It would also solidify his place on the promotion’s poundfor-pound rankings, where he is currently third below welterweight king Kamaru
Usman (20-1) and Australian featherweight Alexander Volkanovski (23-1). Having made relatively light work of Whittaker last time, Adesanya is a heavy favourite going in and will be expected to get the job done without many problems in Houston.
Yet Whittaker is by no means a pushover. The 31-year-old is promising a more refined approach than his ‘‘reckless’’ showing in their first encounter.
He claims to have entered the cage last time with an irrational hatred of his outspoken rival that threw him off his usual counter-attacking game, vowing to put that right in today’s sequel.
Can Whittaker make the necessary adjustments to end Adesanya’s unbeaten run at the weight? The odds are stacked against him.
WHO IS ROBERT WHITTAKER?
Born in Auckland but raised in Australia, Whittaker is well known to Kiwi fight fans. An accomplished fighter with 23 wins and five losses to his name, he briefly held the middleweight title for an injury-interrupted spell between 2017 and 2019 before running into Adesanya at UFC 243.
Since that setback, Whittaker has reeled off three successive wins over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum to cement his place at the top of the UFC middleweight rankings and earn a shot at reclaiming his old title.
Known as ‘The Reaper’, Whittaker began competing professionally in 2009 and first fought under the UFC banner three years later.
After four years at middleweight, during which he went 6-0, the Sydney native picked up an interim world title by defeating decorated Cuban wrestler Yoel Romero via unanimous decision. He was later upgraded to undisputed champion when UFC icon Georges St-Pierre was forced to retire through illness.
With a background in both wrestling and karate, Whittaker boasts great timing and striking ability and is equally comfortable grappling, winning five of his 29 contests via submission.
Unlike Adesanya, the mildmannered Whittaker is not one for trash-talk and is involved in numerous charitable activities away from the Octagon.
WHERE WILL THE FIGHT BE WON AND LOST?
Whittaker concedes that he lost the battle of the mind games to Adesanya three years ago,
letting the then-challenger get under his skin. The build-up to their rematch has been far more subdued, the Australian refusing to rise to the bait thrown his way by the brash New Zealander, who has vowed to ‘‘do what I did last time, but worse’’.
Adesanya already has the blueprint on how to beat Whittaker — use his superior footwork and speed to slide in and out of range and force his opponent to lunge forward in his attacks, picking him off with sharp, concussive counters.
That patient approach paid dividends last time and it would be a surprise to see Adesanya adopt a different strategy, though he may come out more aggressive having tasted Whittaker’s power and not been shaken.
The onus is on Whittaker then to come up with a fresh game plan. His striking is simply not as good as Adesanya’s and he will no doubt look to turn it into a wrestling match this time round.
Whittaker must cut off the cage and jab his way in to give himself more takedown opportunities. Though Adesanya has improved his grappling game, this is one area where ‘Bobby Knuckles’’ has the upper hand and he will need to exploit if he is to level their series. Adesanya is the better kickboxer of the two and also has a significant height (1.93m to 1.83m) and reach (203.2cm to 186.7cm) advantage that could have a decisive say on how their second meeting plays out.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER KIWIS ON THE CARD?
Two of Adesanya’s City Kickboxing team-mates are also on the card. Light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg (5-1) is seeking redemption against Fabio Cherant after losing his UFC debut by knockout at UFC 259 in Las Vegas last March.
The one-time catwalk model will need to win against the ‘‘Water Buffalo’’ (7-3), an American coming off two firstround losses. Another defeat would be a big blow to Ulberg as the 31-year-old ‘‘Black Jag’’ doesn’t have time on his side.
Zimbabwe-born Kiwi Mike Mathetha (3-0), aka ‘‘Blood Diamond’’, makes his eagerlyanticipated UFC debut against Jeremiah Wells to open the show. Coach Eugene Bareman has high hopes for the 33-yearold, going as far as saying that he is a better fighter than Adesanya was at this stage of his career.
Mathetha has more than 100 kickboxing bouts under his belt but faces a stiff test from Wells, a former Cage Fury FC welterweight champion who scored a knockout win on his own UFC debut last year.