Israel Adesanya says Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori have to "do something really spectacular" to earn third fight, suggests change of division
Israel Adesanya has shut down the idea of a trilogy bout with either Robert Whittaker or Marvin Vettori.
The reigning middleweight champion currently owns two victories over each man. Unlike his teammate Alexander Volkanovski, who will be fighting Max Holloway for the third time despite being up 2-0, Adesanya isn't willing to give his former opponents another crack at the title.
During an interview with Sherdog, 'The Last Stylebender' revealed that, as far as he's concerned, both Whittaker and Vettori don't deserve trilogy bouts. Adesanya added that it might be in their best interest to leave the 185-pound weight class:
"Yeah, I read those books twice already. I don't like reading the same book over and over again. Kinda boring, so yeah, they can just move up to light heavyweight or drop down to [welterweight] and see what's going on. But to fight me again, they would have to do something really spectacular. So yeah, I don't really wanna read those books again."
Catch Israel Adesanya's interview in the clip below:
In his most recent outing, the Nigerian-born Kiwi defended his title against Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271. Adesanya also defeated Whittaker in a title unification match during their first encounter in 2019.
'The Last Stylebender' , on the other hand, defeated Vettori by decision twice. Their first encounter in 2019 saw Adesanya edge 'The Italian Dream' by split decision, while their 2021 rematch ended more decisively, with the champ retaining via unanimous decision.
Robert Whittaker responds to Israel Adesanya's comments
Despite Israel Adesanya's lack of interest in a trilogy, Robert Whittaker is still holding out hope that he'll claw his way back into the title picture.
Responding to Adesanya's comments, 'The Reaper' insisted that he's going nowhere anytime soon and will beat everyone in the division until he makes his way back to Adesanya. During an interview with TalkSport, Whittaker said:
"I’m the most dangerous person in the division and I threaten everyone, no-one is safe in this division and of course, he wants me to get out of there. I’m the hunter and I want it. He saw after that last fight that I wanted it and I’m coming for it and I’m not gonna stop until I get it. It’s scary, just picture looking over your shoulder and seeing me there."
A huge middleweight bout goes down in Paris 🇫🇷
Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori are set to fight on September 3rd. https://t.co/14n7DDqEQl
Robert Whittaker was scheduled to face Marvin Vettori on the main card of UFC 275. However, the Australian was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an injury. The matchup has been rebooked as the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa in September.