Robert Whittaker plans to get Israel Adesanya to "make a mistake" in upcoming UFC 271 rematch - "If he slips up, I'm going to take everything away from him"
Robert Whittaker spoke about his mindset going into the fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 271.
Whittaker revealed he would take full advantage against the UFC middleweight champ if he made a mistake in their rematch.
During an interview with Submission Radio, Whittaker said:
"In [Adesanya's fight with Jan Blachowicz], stylistically I could see some angles that Jan could capitalize on him. I thought, 'You know what, maybe I can capitalize on [them] as well.' When he fought Vettori, I saw the same thing... he's a champ for a reason and he's very good in his craft but I just feel like I have a skillset that, you know, if he slips up, I'm going to take everything away from him. And, I'll look to try and make him make a mistake."
Watch Robert Whittaker's full appearance on Submission Radio below:
Robert Whittaker will look to extract his revenge at UFC 271 after he was knocked out by 'The Last Stylebender' at UFC 243 in their first fight.
#UFC271 bout order (per UFC website)
h/t @omgitsfeely https://t.co/24xOrn3Tox
The only blot on Adesanya's MMA resume is a failed bid to become double champ against then light heavyweight titleholder Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.
Many believe Blachowicz's dominant wrestling against Adesanya exposed a chink in his armor. It is something that 'The Reaper' will also look to exploit within the Nigerian-born New Zealander's game in their rematch.
Israel Adesanya slams Robert Whittaker for saying he will follow Jan Blachowicz's blueprint
Israel Adesanya has fired back at Robert Whittaker for saying that Jan Blachowicz exposed holes in his fighting style when Adesanya lost to the Polish powerhouse in March 2021.
According to Adesanya, 'The Reaper' tried to imitate Kelvin Gastelum's aggressive fighting style in their first meeting and was viciously knocked out. The middleweight champ feels Whittaker is repeating the same mistake.
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Everything is bigger in Texas, and this one is going to be ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ
Just 2๏ธโฃ more weeks to @StyleBender vs @RobWhittakerMMA ๐ฟ
[ #UFC271 | Feb 12 | @ToyotaCenter | Tickets ๐ ufc.ac/3GLhZD2 ] https://t.co/ZygOFuc8FQ
Speaking about the rematch in a recent interview with Fox Sports Australia, Adesanya said:
"We have a solid team and I've kept things fresh as well just to remind myself who I was. The first time we fought, [Whittaker] said Kelvin has laid out the blueprint to the path of beating me and look how that helped him. So this time Jan, he thinks, has the blueprint on beating me. But like I said, he should write his own homework. Stop trying to copy everyone else's homework."
Watch the full interview below:
Whittaker had home advantage fighting in Melbourne in the first encounter. However, it was Adesanya who rose to the occasion, picking up an emphatic second-round TKO victory on the night.
Can Whittaker avenge his loss to 'The Last Stylebender' or will Adesanya defeat 'The Reaper' one more time? We'll find out on February 12.