By 
Nigeria’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion, Israel ‘Last Style Bender’ Adesanya has hinted that he could use a new strategy to get victory in his upcoming title defence, megasportsarena.com reports.
As days keep counting towards his next outing in The Octagon later this month, the New Zealand-based mixed martial arts fighter looked back on his career so far and concluded that he needs something fresh in order to stay relevant.
With that view top of his mind, Adesanya stressed that he will have to step up his game and come up with something different in the fight against Robert Whittaker, the man he dethroned in 2019.
Fight fans and purists still recall how Adesanya’s ascension to UFC middleweight champ came in front of a fittingly seismic backdrop, inspiring a fittingly divisive reaction.
Never in UFC history have as many fans gathered for a fight night as on October 5, 2019, when more than 57,000 packed out Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
One narrative thread running through the main event of UFC 243 was familiar to many sporting fans, with Whittaker in one corner looking on with uncertainty in his eyes.
However, this time out, Whittaker believes he is in the right shape to upend Adesanya, hence the champion’s confession that he needs to come up with something ‘fresh’ in order to keep his belt.
A report by Farah Hannoun, however, reveals that Whittaker is relishing the underdog role heading into his title-fight rematch with Adesanya.
Whittaker (23-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) will thus look to reclaim the middleweight title when he takes on Adesanya in the main event of UFC 271 on February 12 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, USA.
The report adds that, since losing the belt to Adesanya (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) at UFC 243, Whittaker has looked nothing short of impressive.
However, despite garnering three wins over top contenders Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum, he remains a sizable underdog at +200, according to Tipico.
Whittaker said in an interview with Unibet Australia: “I’m the underdog moving into this rematch with Adesanya. (It) makes sense, you know. He already beat me once. He’s the current champ.
“He’s sitting at the high horse and he beat me the first time. It definitely takes some of the pressure off, being the underdog.
“No one expects me to win. No one expects me to go over there and dethrone him after he beat me already. Throughout my whole career, I’ve loved being the underdog.
“I love getting in there and defying the odds. I like going in there and proving people wrong. It gives me that little bit of extra edge.”
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Whittaker admitted his ego got in the way of his performance against Adesanya in their first fight.
“The Reaper” has looked near flawless at 185 pounds, but on that particular night, Whittaker wasn’t able to mount much offense and ultimately was stopped in Round 2.
He has since shown new wrinkles in his game by landing numerous takedowns in his wins over Till and Gastelum as he brings a more refined skill set into the rematch.
Whittaker, though, posited that he has just evolved physically, adding: “As a fighter, I’ve changed plenty because you can see I’m trying to incorporate new angles into my game.
“I’m not the same guy I was then. I’m utilizing a more complete skill set. Most importantly is outside of the octagon. I’m not the same guy I was then. I’m much more at grips with who I am.
“Why I do things, why I train, why I want to win. The most important thing is just winning. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a belt or not. It’s about winning.”
Comments