"I just have a different sense of it" - Henry Cejudo believes he can coach Robert Whittaker to beat Israel Adesanya, says UFC middleweight division lacks IQ
Former multi-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo is of the opinion that he could help Robert Whittaker get the better of Israel Adesanya in a potential trilogy fight.
Cejudo recently conducted a Q&A session on his YouTube channel. While talking about the 185-pound weight class, 'Triple C' suggested that he sees a lack of fight IQ in the division.
Cejudo added that if he were to train Whittaker, he could provide 'The Reaper' with the tools to defeat Adesanya in a third encounter.
"The middleweight division, I just don't see IQ in there... If I was to even get Robert Whittaker like, under me, in my hands, I know I could get Robert Whittaker to beat a guy like Israel. I just have a different sense of it, you know? There's a lot of things that he did right and there's things that he did wrong. Like, being too cautious, over-respecting your opponent, things like that."
Catch the full Q&A session below:
Whittaker and 'The Last Stylebender' have crossed paths twice in the UFC. In their first bout, Adesanya closed the show with a second-round knockout at UFC 243 in Melbourne.
In their second encounter, the Nigerian-New Zealander edged out a close decision victory at UFC 271 in Houston.
Israel Adesanya is undefeated at middleweight
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has never faced defeat at 185 pounds. 'The Last Stylebender' has an MMA record of 23-1, with the only loss coming when Adesanya moved up to light heavyweight in an attempt to become champ-champ.
Jan Blachowicz played spoilsport in Adesanya's plans, defeating the 33-year-old via unanimous decision at UFC 259 last March.
At middleweight in the UFC, Adesanya has ran through his opponents. He's defeated high-caliber fighters like Derek Brunson, Paulo Costa, Robert Whittaker, Marvin Vettori, Kelvin Gastelum, Yoel Romero and Jared Cannonier.
Israel Adesanya is now set to face Alex Pereira for the middleweight title at UFC 281. What makes this matchup exciting is the fact that the two middleweights share a past.
Pereira is the only inidivudal to knock Adesanya out in combat sports. The pair competed in two kickboxing matches, both of which were won by 'Poatan'.
Now, it will be intriguing to see whether the Brazilian is able to achieve the same feat in an MMA bout or if Adesanya can avenge his two losses and continue his spectacular run in the UFC middleweight division.