UFC 271: Robert Whittaker says future trilogy bout against Israel Adesanya is inevitable

Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya fought in the main event at UFC 271 in Houston. Photo / Getty Images

Israel Adesanya's saga with Robert Whittaker might not be over just yet.

Yesterday, Adesanya took a 2-0 lead in bouts against his Australian counterpart, earning a unanimous decision win over Whittaker to defend his UFC middleweight title at UFC 271 in Houston.

Unlike their first encounter, in which Adesanya claimed a second-round knockout victory – the bout was more closely contested. A high-level display of mixed martial arts, both fighters had their moments, with Adesanya edging the scorecards 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46.

In the past two years, Adesanya and Whittaker have separated themselves from the rest of the division in terms of standing. Adesanya has won all 11 of his bouts in the UFC at middleweight, which Whittaker has won 11 of his 13 in the division, with his only losses being to Adesanya.

"A third fight between me and Izzy is inevitable, because I'm going to stomp everyone who comes in front of me, and he knows that," Whittaker said.

"I don't see him losing the belt any time soon. He's good. I think I am the person to beat him, and my mission stays the same – beat the next man in front of me."

Things didn't look like they were going to go all that much differently in Houston on Sunday for Whittaker early as, after struggling to read Adesanya for most of the round, he got sent to the canvas in the final moments of the round.

He adjusted well though, pressuring Adesanya on the feet and mixing in his wrestling well to really test the champion. While Whittaker was able to take a couple of rounds off Adesanya, the champion's control of the octagon coupled with his accuracy and output on the feet saw him take a deserved decision win to add another title defence to his growing legacy.

Speaking about the fight, Whittaker said he felt he had done enough to win.

"This one was better than the first one, huh?" Whittaker said. "I thought I did enough.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't want this popping up in a highlight reel screaming 'Rob thinks he won' blah blah blah, I'm not taking anything away from him because literally, he won. He's got the belt, that's how it works.

"At the moment, Izzy was my biggest obstacle; he was my biggest hurdle. He beat me in a good thrashing the first time, so I've been working and angling myself to evolve and get better. I've done that, and you can see in this fight I've just had with him how far I've come, to the point where I think I beat him, so I'm excited for the future.

"The ceiling is nowhere in sight. There is no ceiling for me I believe."

However, a third part to their story will have to wait. As ended up being the case following their first fight, Whittaker will now have to work his way back to a title shot to allow for someone else to have a shot at dethroning Adesanya.

American Jared Cannonier appears to be next in line, after a knockout win over Derek Brunson earlier on the UFC 271 card saw him earn a performance of the night bonus and catch the attention of UFC president Dana White.

"I was excited to see that fight to see how it was going to play out," White said of Cannonier's bout against Brunson. "It was an awesome fight and, yeah, I'm not going to say no to Cannonier."