Heading into
UFC 254, reigning middleweight champion Israel
Adesanya had his eye on Jared
Cannonier as the division’s next No. 1 contender – all
Cannonier had to do was do his part and defeat Robert
Whittaker.
That proved to be easier said than done, however, as Whittaker was
superior over the course of three rounds in a unanimous decision
triumph in Saturday’s co-main event at the Flash Forum in Abu
Dhabi. Since relinquishing the middleweight crown to Adesanya at
UFC 243, “The Reaper” has posted back-to-back triumphs over
Cannonier and Darren Till
in a matter of three months.
That seems to have re-established Whittaker as the top contender at
185 pounds – at least in the eyes of UFC president Dana White.
“It’s [a rematch between Whittaker and Adesanya] very appealing to
me. It’s a fight that makes sense right now,” White said at the UFC
254 post-fight press conference. “Adesanya has a lot of options,
but the fight that makes the most sense is Whittaker. I thought
Cannonier was gonna be a much tougher challenger for him. He looked
good tonight. The Adesanya fight makes sense.”
For his part, Whittaker is content to wait for a little while to
get his rematch. The ex-champ has a baby on the way in January and
doesn’t want to take any focus away from that in the coming
months.
“He’s a tough fight man, but I’m stoked to fight him. He’s a hard
fight. He only looked better in his last fight – and the fact he
beat me once already,” Whittaker said. “But I feel I’ve got a
couple tricks I can roll out. I feel like I can play it
differently. I know he’s trying to do everything else. I’m not
thinking about him. Maybe me and him should not think about it for
a little bit, let him go up to light heavyweight…whatever he wants
to do, it doesn’t bother me.”
Regardless of when it takes place, Whittaker believes he is
destined to lock horns with Adesanya again someday.
“I do want to fight him one day, whether it’s in my career or in
the parking lot as two old fellas. I think our paths will cross
again,” he said. “As a warrior, it’s something I need to do. I’m
not worried about who I fight next. My whole mentality with this
game is you line ‘em up, I’ll knock ‘em down. I’m pretty good at
that.”