UFC 254 featured a highly anticipated middleweight showdown between Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier. Whittaker put on a clinic to beat Cannonier with a unanimous decision.
Robert Whittaker dominated Jared Cannonier from start to finish. It was an intense fight. Cannonier has massive knockout power and his leg kicks are vicious. And many fans including the middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya were expecting Cannonier to knock Whittaker out.
What went wrong for Jared Cannonier against Robert Whittaker at UFC 254?
However, Robert Whittaker defied the odds yet again to secure his second victory after the loss to Adesanya. Whittaker has now wins over two of the biggest names in the division, Darren Till and Jared Cannonier. It’s a no brainer that Whittaker should fight Adesanya next for the title.
However, the first encounter between the two was not competitive at all. Israel Adesanya picked Whittaker apart and knocked him down twice. Adesanya has said that he is ready to fight him in a rematch but there are not a lot of incentives for the champion to fight Whittaker again.
He won’t be able to finish the fight in a more impressive fashion than the first fight. He also has some huge matchups at light heavyweight and heavyweight division. So it won’t be a surprise if Adesanya moves up to light heavyweight to fight Jon Jones or the champion, Jan Blachowicz.
But, as per UFC president, Dana White, Israel Adesanya vs Robert Whittaker is the fight to make. White stated:
“It’s very appealing to me. It’s the fight that makes sense. Adesanya has a lot of options. But the fight that makes the most sense is Whittaker. I thought Cannonier was going to be a much tougher challenge for him. But, he looked good tonight. The Adesanya fight makes sense for him next.”
Can Robert Whittaker beat Israel Adesanya in a rematch?
Robert Whittaker was not at his best in the fight against Israel Adesanya. He was coming from a long layoff and he was fighting with a terrible gameplan. However, he seemed to have found the rhythm and momentum that might help him in the potential rematch against Adesanya.
However, beating Adesanya is not going to be easy for Whittaker even in the rematch. It’s hard to imagine someone beating Adesanya in a striking battle. But, if Whittaker can mix things up then he might stand a chance to dethrone the middleweight king.