Justin Gaethje believes Robert Whittaker won 3 of the 5 rounds against Israel Adesanya at UFC 271

Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker rematched at UFC 271 [image courtesy - @mmafighting on Twitter]

Justin Gaethje feels Robert Whittaker should have had his hand raised instead of Israel Adesanya in their rematch. Whittaker and Adesanya fought each other in a much-anticipated rematch at UFC 271, which took place Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

The first time they fought each other, Adesanya came away with an impressive second-round TKO win. The rematch, however, turned out to be a closer contest. 'The Highlight' scored rounds three, four and five in favor of the former middleweight champ.

Whittaker took 3,4,5 #UFC271

Adesanya took the first round, taking the fight to Whittaker and being more aggressive in his approach than usual.

Towards the end of the round, 'The Last Stylebender' threw a stinging jab with laser-sharp accuracy, which sat Whittaker down. From the second round onwards, Whittaker brought his jab and left hook to the game, adopting a more cautious approach than the first fight.

'The Reaper' changed levels brilliantly, managing to take Adesanya down on multiple occasions throughout the fight but failed to keep the champ down. Meanwhile, Adesanya maintained range and kept cracking Whittaker with leg kicks and the occasional jabs.

After five rounds, it seemed like a tough call for the judges. However, they ultimately gave the nod to Adesanya via unanimous decision. According to Justin Gaethje, Whittaker won three out of five rounds in the fight and should have become the new middleweight champion.

Robert Whittaker feels he won four out of five rounds against Israel Adesanya at UFC 271

Robert Whittaker felt a little hard done by after the scorecards were announced following the fight. Whittaker believed he did enough to bag the title during his post-fight octagon interview with Daniel Cormier. However, 'The Reaper' acknowledged the judges' decision and said he's happy to have fought his heart out.

"I did [think I should have won], I did, you know, I don't know, I started off rocky in that first round but I feel like I took every round after... It is what it is but you know that what they say don't leave it to the judges... I fought my heart out, I'm happy."

Check out Whittaker's octagon interview below:

'The Reaper' also gave due credit to Adesanya for retaining the title. The pair hugged each other following the fight and seemingly buried the hatchet. Adesanya raised Robert Whittaker's hand, urging the crowd to applaud him for putting up a good performance.

Sportsmanship at its finest 👏

Izzy and Whittaker show each other respect after the fight. #UFC271 https://t.co/3lsSCUAdUu