5 adjustments Robert Whittaker needs to make to defeat Israel Adesanya at UFC 271
This weekend sees UFC 271 go down from Houston’s Toyota Center. In the main event, middleweight champion Israel Adesanya defends against former titleholder Robert Whittaker.
The last time these two men fought, Whittaker fell to a second-round knockout defeat at the hands of Adesanya. So, can ‘The Reaper’ turn things around this time?
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If he wants to pull the victory off, the former champion will need to make a number of key adjustments, otherwise it’s very likely he’ll come out on the wrong end of things again.
So with that in mind, here are five adjustments Robert Whittaker needs to make to defeat Israel Adesanya at UFC 271.
#5. Robert Whittaker needs to take the fight into the later rounds
While Israel Adesanya has been the distance on seven occasions during his UFC career, including in four title bouts, it’s arguable that he isn’t quite so battle-hardened as Robert Whittaker.
Sure, ‘The Last Stylebender’ was pushed remarkably hard by Kelvin Gastelum in 2019 and impressed by ripping the fight away from the TUF 17 champion in the final round. However, the majority of his longer fights have seen him simply pick his opponents off from distance at a slower pace.
Adesanya certainly hasn’t been involved in the kind of wars that Whittaker was in against Yoel Romero. The Australian practically took a career’s worth of damage over a single 25-minute fight alone.
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Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero go to war in a five-round epic at #UFC225
Both men warriors. Robert Whittaker the winner 💪 https://t.co/FD6o0xnmHm
Naturally, that stands against ‘The Reaper’ for the most part, as no fighter would wish to withstand the kind of punishment he endured in those two clashes with the Cuban.
However, it is worth remembering that Whittaker has always excelled in the later rounds of fights and shown an incredible amount of heart and durability. It’s why he’s only been knocked out by Adesanya and Stephen Thompson – two strikers with pinpoint accuracy.
Therefore, if Whittaker can slow ‘The Last Stylebender’ down somehow – perhaps by looking to overpower him in the clinch – then a lot of what makes Adesanya dangerous might be neutralized. If the fight then heads into the later rounds, ‘The Reaper’ may be more suited to finding a way to gut out a win.