Robert Whitaker is proud of the improvements he made in his second fight with Israel Adesanya, but he was not happy to go home with a defeat.
Whitaker faced Adesanya in a rematch for the middleweight title in the main event of UFC 271 last month, leaving a unanimous decision to the champion in a five-round fight. After the fight, Whitaker felt that he had done enough to win, and while this can sometimes be enough for a competitor, the record shows a loss – and that doesn't sit well with the former world champion. Is.
"It was a good performance and I executed the game plan, and I've come a long way since that first one," Whitaker told MMA Fighting. "But I'm just not happy with it. I'm not happy with it. I didn't win. Even if I felt like I won and a lot of other people thought I won, I didn't win." . The same sits with me. The next day I woke up and didn't feel happy. It still eats at me. I'm not happy to lose, otherwise I wouldn't have been in this game.
“I was proud of the performance, what happened and the way I conducted myself, the game plan I executed. I'm still not satisfied and I can only make amends for it by taking it out on the next guy and coming back to Easy one day.
"But I know, at this point, I left it all there, and that's the only reason I'm not much, sadder than me because I know I left it all there. It's a lot more than half of me." It was a good fight and I took a lot out of it, but I don't like to lose. I know I can bring myself out there. Maybe part of my drive to find that satisfaction, but it's not so far Not there. "
In their first meeting at UFC 243 in October 2019, Adesanya officially began her reign as the undisputed champion by defeating Whitaker in the second round. That night sent Whitaker into a dark, yet quite contemplative place to seek a love for the sport in which he had great success.
Although he didn't hold the 185-pound title, Whitaker was able to find some silver linings, which is night and day compared to their first meeting.
"It's not even close," Whitaker explained. "After that first fight, and preparing for the second fight, there's always that level of hesitation, caution, what ifs, and it's always present throughout the camp, throughout training, and especially in battle Because you can see it come out in that first round. In the second round, it was like a bolt of lightning hit me and it was like, 'It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen. I've come too far I am.' And you can see [round] two, three, four, five, I just keep getting better and better.
"Except for that fight, I felt like I came full circle. I finished the cycle, and I've left that fight a lot better than when I went in. Progress, as you've seen, Growth, it's getting better, and mate, the future is limitless. There's no limit, and I'm focused on that because I'm so excited for what's to come. Me and Adesanya getting on the way again There are ones, but the next fight will be very, very different."
At the UFC 271 post-fight press conference, Whitaker confidently declared that a trilogy match between him and Adesanya was "inevitable." To get there, "The Reaper" knows very well that he needs to score some victories against higher-ranked opponents.
2 in the Global Rankings of MMA Fighting, the middleweight eyes a faster turnaround than usual, with another meeting with "The Last Stylebender" to help take the next step towards a name to help.
"I think June, July is a great time, just go straight back there," Whitaker said. "I didn't run with too many injuries - just bumps and scratches - so if we can settle something for that period, that would be cool. I think my guys are already talking to the UFC and soon Only a few events, so it should be a little fun.
"I think Marvin Vettori is the only guy in the top-five that I haven't fought yet, so I think it makes the most sense. We're both chasing the same thing, that third fight." Adesanya, so it makes perfect sense to date him."