UFC: Whittaker destroys Kelvin, demands Adesanya rematch

“no other fight makes sense”  Robert Whittaker.

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Robert Whittaker has set sights on a rematch with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya as he eyes a stadium headliner in Australia or New Zealand later this year.

Whittaker, the division’s No 1-ranked contender, put on a clinic of a display against Kelvin Gastelum at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sunday morning, dominating to earn a unanimous decision. All three judges scored the headline bout 50-45.

The victory was Whittaker’s third since losing the belt to Adesanya in late 2019, including two at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, with those coming against top-ranked opponents Darren Till and Jared Cannonier.

With another chalked off on Sunday, Whittaker is now targeting a chance to avenge his defeat to Adesanya – it marks his sole loss in the past seven years, a run stretching 13 fights – at UFC 243 in Melbourne in October 2019.

Adesanya, who prevailed by second-round knockout, is coming off a defeat having last month suffered his first reverse in professional mixed martial arts when he stepped up against light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.

Speaking after Sunday’s win against Gastelum, Whittaker told the assembled media: “There’s no fight that makes sense for me but that title shot, that’s the fight that I want and that’s what I’m getting.

 

Tobi Sangotola/Thenational