Nikita Krylov would like to be the wrench in a former’s champ’s
plans at 205 pounds. | 📷: Getty/UFC


Nikita
Krylov wants to play spoiler for Robert
Whittaker’s light heavyweight move.

Whittaker (26-9) is set to make his light heavyweight debut in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship against Krylov (31-11) at

UFC 329 on Saturday, July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las
Vegas.

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Krylov believes Whittaker envisions a light heavyweight move like
Alex
Pereira, who went on to win the title at 205 pounds. However,
the Ukrainian-born Russian fighter has claimed that the former
middleweight champion’s move up is more likely to end up like
Israel
Adesanya’s or Chris
Weidman’s.

Nikita Krylov says Robert Whittaker’s light heavyweight move
mirrors Israel Adesanya

Adesanya only fought once at light heavyweight, losing his title
bid to then-champion Jan
Blachowicz in 2021. Weidman had also moved back to middleweight
after being thwarted at light heavyweight by Dominick
Reyes in 2019. Krylov hopes to send Whittaker back to 185
pounds in a similar fashion.

“It looks like he wants to move up like Alex
Pereira. But I think it may end up the way it did in Adesanya’s
case,” Krylov told Red Corner MMA. “Jan Blachowicz beat Israel
Adesanya; Dominick Reyes beat Chris Weidman; I’d like to see
something similar for Robert as well.”

Whittaker never reclaimed his middleweight title after losing it to
Adesanya in 2019. The Australian is moving up to light heavyweight
on the back of consecutive losses to Khamzat
Chimaev and Reinier
de Ridder.

Meanwhile, Krylov has gone 6-6 in the UFC since making his Octagon
debut in 2018. He is coming off a stoppage win over Modestas
Bukauskas, rebounding from back-to-back losses to Reyes and
Bogdan
Guskov.

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