Dana White Confirms Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya Will Happen In Australia
Scrap any talk of Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya’s UFC middleweight unification title fight taking place in the United States.
UFC President Dana White spoke to media recently and doubled down that he’s going to book the fight “Down Under,” and it will “blow the f*cking doors” off the country:
“I’m gonna put on a fight this fall in Australia that’s gonna blow the f*cking doors off that country, okay,” White said. “And, it’s gonna be a massive event over there. And, what’s crazy is, this massive event that’s gonna happen in Australia, people in the U.K. are gonna watch it, people in Europe are gonna watch it, people in the United States, Canada, Brazil – the world will watch this fight.
“”I’m talking about Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. The world will watch that fight, from Australia, which will be a massive event there. We’re not a U.S. promoter, we’re a global promoter.”
Whittaker captured the UFC middleweight title when he defeated Yoel Romero for the interim 185-pound strap back in July of 2017. He was promoted to undisputed champion soon after, following Georges St-Pierre vacating the middleweight throne. Whittaker was scheduled for his first title defense in a rematch with Romero last year, but after the Cuban missed weight, it was changed to a five round non-title fight.
Injuries have plagued “Bobby Knuckles'” career over the past several months. Hopefully, he’s healthy enough to make it into the Octagon against Adesanya. “Stylebender” won the interim UFC middleweight title when he defeated Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event of UFC 236 this past April. He has established himself as one of the most dynamic strikers in the promotion and remains undefeated at 17-0.
