Robert Whittaker: Israel Adesanya Won’t Withstand The Heat I Bring

Robert Whittaker is confident he will defeat Israel Adesanya at UFC 243.

The middleweight champion will fight for the first time since UFC 225 in June of 2018, while Adesanya has fought six times since February of last year. However, “The Reaper” believes “The Last Stylebender” got exposed against Kelvin Gastelum leaving the champ confident.

“If Gastelum can do that much work, I can,” Whittaker told MMA Junkie. “I like to think I’ve got a better skillset than Gastelum. I think I have a better skillset than Izzy. Let’s just see how it goes.”

Although he believes Adesanya got exposed, Whittaker knows he is very talented and it will be a tough fight.

“I think [Adesanya] is super deadly,” Whittaker said. “I think he’s a very talented and great fighter, but hell, I’m still up-and-coming, you know? I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon.

“Honestly, I am more excited for how I come out of this fight, for the work that I’ll put in after this fight to the fighter that I’m going to become from this fight, because every year, I’m getting better. Every year, I have harder fights, and I’ve got a lot of years left in me.”

Regardless of the outcome, all Whittaker wants to do after the fight is spend time with his family.

“Obviously, I’m not looking past Israel,” Whittaker said. “He’s a very hard opponent, and honestly, it’s going to be a very hard fight, and I know this. I’ve prepared for this. But, the only sure thing that I know after this fight is that Monday I’m going to go home and see my kids. That’s it.”

In the end, Whittaker is confident he will beat Adesanya as he doesn’t think he will be able to withstand his pressure.

“I don’t think he’s going to be able to withstand the heat that I bring – and I’m not looking to finish him; I’m looking to drag this into a five-round war, I’m going to drag him into the trenches.

“I’m going to do what Gastelum did, but better. Let’s see if he wants to leave early.”

Who do you think will win the fight between Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya?