Robert Whittaker believes Israel Adesanya will emerge out victorious against Paulo Costa at UFC 253
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker recently shared his view on how the fight between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa would go at UFC 253 in September.
The Australian, who is currently ranked no.1 in the division, feels Costa has a decent chance to win but he feels eventually Adesanya will come out on top at the title showdown.
"I think Adesanya might win. But Costa can win too. If I was a betting man, I would choose Adesanya. He has the skills to keep the distance, work his opponent with his range and take him out in the end," said the former champion while taking to Sportstar.
After defeating Darren Till recently on Fight Island, Robert Whittaker is currently scheduled to fight Jared Cannonier at UFC 254. The fight is tipped to be an eliminator to determine the next no.1 Contender for the middleweight strap.
Robert Whittaker on upcoming bout against Cannonier
When asked about Cannonier as an opponent Whittaker said on SiriusXM Fight Nation, "My thoughts on him are he’s a dangerous guy, like very dangerous, He’s got knockout power. He’s tough, he’s relentless. He goes forward, just pressures you and beats you up. That’s his whole thing, he’s a real big bully fighter, but he’s resilient to all other angles. You take him down, he gets back up. You try to bang with him, and he out-toughs you, and he’s got heavy leather."
Check out his interview with Miesha Tate below.
Both men were scheduled to fight back at UFC 248, but the bout fell off as Robert Whittaker had to withdraw because of personal reasons. And Cannonier also suffered an injury and has been out since. Cannonier will also serve as the backup fighter for the UFC 253 main event between Adesanya and Costa.
No.4 ranked Jack Hermansson, who recently earned a first-round submission win over Kelvin Gastelum is also looking for about against Whittaker.
"Get in line, everybody wants to fight me next," said the Aussie fighter.
"The Reaper" wants to run it back with Adesanya:
Robert Whittaker also revealed he is looking forward to a rematch against "The Last Stylebender", who stopped the former at UFC 243 to become the champion. Redemption is on his mind. Though he confessed he may or may not be the one next in line.
"I want a rematch with Adesanya. I want to run that back. I want to see how I take that fight with a clear head. I'm a fighter and I don't like people who have beaten me being out there. So I want to run the matchup again," He said.
Robert Whittaker on fighting Georges St-Pierre
Recently Khabib Nurmagomedov called out former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges st-Pierre. Robert Whittaker, who previously fought at welterweight, was asked about a possible fight between him and GSP. To which he responded he will never go back to welterweight again.
He also talked about the possibility of him moving up to light heavyweight in the future."I'll never go back to welterweight ever again. I'm too big. I may head up to light heavyweight in the future. Let's see. I want to spend more time on the skills of the sport, without focussing much on cutting or gaining weight."