Israel Adesanya Claims Robert Whittaker Is ‘Back Of The Line,’ Must Earn Rematch

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has no interest in rematching Robert Whittaker right now.

Adesanya knocked out Whittaker in their UFC 243 main event in October. “Stylebender” – then the interim middleweight champion – knocked Whittaker out in the second round to become the undisputed 185-pound champ. Now, Adesanya prepares to make his first title defense in 2020.

Initially, Adesanya was expected to face Paulo Costa. However, Costa suffered an injury that will sideline him for some time. It remains a question who Adesanya will now face, however, Yoel Romero is the rumored frontrunner. When asked about a potential rematch with Whittaker on Twitter, Adesanya was quick to shut that down.

“F*ck no. He gotta earn that one. Back of the line it is mate.”

Fuck no. He gotta earn that one. Back of the line it is mate. https://t.co/AiYZdABajc

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) November 22, 2019

Whittaker has since called his shot to take on Darren Till in the main event of an upcoming UFC show in London. With a win over Till – who just defeated top-ranked middleweight Kelvin Gastelum in his divisional debut – Whittaker could find himself right back into the title picture.

Till will be no easy task, however, as he has proven to be one of the better strikers under the UFC’s banner in any weight class.

What do you make of Adesanya’s claim that Whittaker needs to earn a rematch?