Christopher Reive chats to Robert Whittaker ahead of UFC 271. Video / NZ Herald
What's the situation?
Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya puts his title on the line once more when he meets Robert Whittaker in the headline bout in Houston. It's a rematch that has been a long time coming, after Adesanya took the undisputed crown from New Zealand-born Whittaker in Melbourne back in 2019.
It's been an interesting couple of years since that meeting. Many felt Whittaker should have gotten an immediate rematch but, instead, both fighters have had three bouts in the division. While Adesanya has been looking for new challengers to his throne, after beating Yoel Romero and derailing the hype of Paulo Costa, he had to take a rematch in the form of Italian Marvin Vettori. As he did in their first meeting, Adesanya claimed a decision win.
Part of the reason Adesanya hasn't been able to find new challengers is thanks to Whittaker. After Adesanya mentioned he would like to fight Brit Darren Till; Till was beaten by Whittaker. Adesanya said he would like to fight American Jared Cannonier, then Cannonier was beaten by Whittaker. Whittaker also beat Kelvin Gastelum in his most recent fight, shutting out the former title contender 50-45 on all three scorecards.
As Whittaker said at a press conference on Friday: "You can see the level difference between us and the rest of the division."
Adesanya and Whittaker have shown they are far and away the best two middleweights in the promotion, and they will finally get to meet again.
What happened the first time around?
Adesanya put paid to Whittaker. While Whittaker said at the time it was the best he had felt going into a fight, it definitely wasn't his best performance. His constant want to rush forward and try to put hands on the elusive Adesanya ultimately was his undoing, first getting dropped by a counter attack late in the first round, before being finished in almost the exact same sequence midway through the second round.
Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya first met at UFC 243 in Melbourne in 2019. Photo / Getty Images
Whittaker has since admitted the mental warfare leading into the fight, as well as the pressure of the moment and his ego all got the better of him and he didn't perform as he knows he can – and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone to disagree with him. This time around, at least in the build up to the fight, Whittaker has come into fight week in a better mindset and looks ready to show the reigning champion his best on Sunday.
But as Whittaker has improved, so has Adesanya, and that makes for an intriguing prospect in the octagon.
Adesanya and Whittaker won't be the only New Zealand and Australian fighters on the card. Fellow City Kickboxing fighters Carlos Ulberg and Blood Diamond are also getting amongst the fun. Diamond makes his UFC debut opening the card against the hard-hitting, high-pressure style of Jeremiah Wells, while Ulberg meets well-rounded Fabio Cherant a few fights later. Diamond will be fighting on the early prelims, which are only available on the UFC's subscription service, UFC Fight Pass, while Ulberg fights on the prelims which are broadcast on ESPN, Prime and Sky Sport Now.
Ulberg was initially scheduled to fight on the early prelims as well, but there was some late movement in the bout order (see below).
Across the ditch, fans will be cheering on Jacob Malkoun, a teammate of Whittaker's, against AJ Dobson – also on the early prelims. On the prelims, rising flyweight contender Casey O'Neill will look to continue her rise against veteran Roxanne Modafferi, while ever-entertaining Tai Tuivasa takes on Derrick Lewis in the co-main event in one for fans of big hits and short fights.
When is it?
The action is set to get underway at 12pm on Sunday February 13 with the early prelims. The prelims then get underway around 2pm, with the main card starting from 4pm. Adesanya v Whittaker II will go down between 6 and 7pm.
Everyone we're cheering on from this side of the globe did. However, William Knight missed weight by a whopping 12lbs (5kg) for his light heavyweight clash against Maxim Grishin. In a situation like that, you'd often see the fight called off. Instead, Grishin accepted the bout be moved up to the heavyweight division, and he will get 40 per cent of Knight's fight purse.
One bout was cancelled following weigh ins, however, and a rather cursed bout at that. For the fourth time, the flyweight scrap between Alex Perez and Matt Schnell has been cancelled after Perez missed weight by 2lbs (900g). Perez missed weight the last time the two were scheduled to fight as well. That time the bout was called off as Schnell had a medical issue, while this time Schnell did not accept the bout following the weight miss.
Knight v Grishin was original scheduled for the prelims, but has reportedly since been dropped to the first fight of the night on the early prelims with Ulberg v Cherant taking its place on the prelims.
How can I watch it?
The main card, which includes Adesanya v Whittaker and Tuivasa v Lewis, can be purchased on Sky Arena, Spark Sport and Sky Sport Now for $39.35. The prelims, including O'Neill v Modafferi and Ulberg v Cherant, are being broadcast on ESPN, Prime TV and Sky Sport now, while the early prelims, featuring Diamond and Malkoun are only available on UFC Fight Pass.
Odds
Israel Adesanya $1.33 Robert Whittaker $3.10 Carlos Ulberg $1.38 Fabio Cherant $2.85 Blood Diamond $2.70 Jeremiah Wells $1.42
