UFC analyst believes Robert Whittaker 'must leave the weightclass' as trilogy fight with Israel Adesanya unlikely to happen

Robert Whittaker (L), Israel Adesanya (R) [Images via Getty]

UFC analyst Chael Sonnen agrees with middleweight champion Israel Adesanya about Robert Whittaker's need to move up a weight class.

Keeping in mind that the champion does not want to fight Whittaker for a third time, Chael Sonnen believes that the move up a weight class may prove to be beneficial for him. In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen said:

"I think Adesanya was trying to help Robert Whittaker out, because he said, 'I think he needs to leave the division'. But, Adesanya made it clear that Robert Whittaker could be an instant contender up there. That's how I interpret it. But he [Adesanya] said, he [Whittaker] not getting back to me. Even if he gets back to me I am not interested. Been there done that."

Watch Chael Sonnen speaking on this issue below:

Chael Sonnen also spoke about Robert Whittaker's response to Israel Adesanya's comments. Whittaker apparently lost his cool at the suggestion, and went on to say that he will wipe out the entire list of middleweight contenders if that's what it takes to get his trilogy fight/title shot.

It was great to chat with Robert Whittaker and get his reaction to Israel Adesanya telling him to move up to light-heavyweight ⚖️
talksport.com/sport/mma/1134…

However, the fact that Whittaker has now lost twice to Adesanya, which is also the reason the champion gave to not fight him, also persuades Sonnen to not be a huge fan of the idea of a trilogy fight, despite Whittaker's undeniable skill.

Chael Sonnen believes Robert Whittaker's 'deal with fans' behind his inability to get trilogy fight vs. Israel Adesanya

Uncle Chael spoke about how the the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker did not do as well in PPV numbers as some of the other cards. On the same nerve, he also noted Whittaker's lack of media participation and interviews ahead of his rematch.

@iDonnz @MMAFighting @GamebredFighter UFC 274 is the highest PPV of 2022 so far, that’s been reported, not 272

As he has done before, Sonnen emphasised that the value that a fighter holds in the sport today is not limited to their skill inside the octagon. The significance that popularity and effect that a fighter has as a catalyst for entertaining the audience is just as important as the performance on the canvas.

Calling Whittaker's lack of media participation his 'deal with fans', Sonnen addressed the middleweight champion regarding what he can do.

"You need to tell me how you're going to get interest, how you're going to try to repair the deal that you made with the fans because the last time we did this and we signed you up for this, you thought we were just going to do five rounds on a given night."

Surely, driving up engagement with the audience outside the octagon goes a long way for fighters to have more control over their fight careers! Therefore, more popularity would definitely provide Robert Whittaker with more leverage for a trilogy fight against Israel Adesanya.