Does Robert Whittaker deserve a third shot against Israel Adesanya? Coach gives his take
Robert Whittaker is eager to re-claim the UFC middleweight championship. However, current champion Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman believes the Australian hasn't done enough to earn a third fight against 'The Last Stylebender'.
During a recent interview with Sky Sports NZ, Eugene Bareman spoke about Israel Adesanya's next fight which is set to be against the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus du Plessis. In the interview, Bareman revealed that he would prefer a fresh challenge in du Plessis, rather than a third outing against Whittaker.
Claiming that Whittaker hasn't done enough since his last loss to Adesanya to earn another title shot, Bareman said:
"Our preference is not to fight Robert again because we've obviously already beaten Robert twice and he hasn't really done anything since that loss to warrant him fighting [for the title] again so our prefernec would be the South African [Dricus du Plessis]."
Catch Eugene Bareman's comments below (19:18):
Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya squared off in a highly anticipated rematch back in February last year, nearly three years after their initial meeting back in 2019. 'The Last Stylebender' prevailed yet again and walked away with a unanimous decision victory.
Since then, Adesanya has fought three times, and on the flipside, Whittaker has fought just once. For what it's worth, UFC president Dana White has confirmed that winner of Whittaker's upcoming fight against Dricus du Plessis will definately fight for the title next.
Stylebender gives his prediction for Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis at #UFC290 🔮
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Robert Whittaker next fight: Dricus du Plessis claims 'The Reaper' is harder to beat than Israel Adesanya
Dricus du Plessis is set to take on the toughest test of his career so far against Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 with a title shot up for grabs.
Previewing his upcoming fight, du Plessis has made a bold claim in stating that Whittaker is a tougher opponent to beat than Israel Adesanya. During an appearance on Submission Radio, the South African commended the former UFC middleweight champion's endurance and emphasized that making him quit is nearly impossible.
'Stillknocks' also claimed that there is already a "blueprint to beating Adesanya":
"There's more of a blueprint to beating Adesanya, I believe. Even though he is so good and so hard to implement that blueprint. I think there is no victory versus Adesanya. He is just so good at not giving opponents their way. Where with Whittaker, the path to victory is not that simple. You have to catch him, or to outwork him is hard, to make him tired is hard, to get him to quit is nearly impossible. So, I think Whittaker [is] the harder fight, while Adesanya [is] a lot more technical."
Catch Dricus du Plessis' comments below (4:52):