UFC: Robert Whittaker talks tactics ahead of Israel Adesanya rematch at UFC 271

Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya last fought in 2019. Adesanya won via second-round knockout. Photo / Getty Images

Some things in life are just not that easy and, in the UFC's middleweight division, holding division champion Israel Adesanya down is one of them.

Adesanya's defensive grappling plays in to a frequent misconception that can be made in the sport, in that someone with a background in high-level wrestling should be able to take the former kickboxing standout out of his comfort zone.

It's a theory that fans and pundits alike voiced when talking about Robert Whittaker after the New Zealand-born fighter lost the middleweight title to Adesanya in late 2019, and one that Whittaker has learnt to laugh off.

"Mate, it's not easy," Whittaker told the Herald of how he responds when told he should simply take Adesanya to the mat in their rematch at UFC 271 in Houston on February 13.

"If it was easy, everyone he's fought up to date would've done it. He's a hard guy to take down, he's a good fighter. He knows people are going to try to take him down and he actively works against it."

In his eight UFC bouts, Adesanya has a takedown defence rate of 80 per cent, which rises to above 83 per cent if you exclude his foray into the light heavyweight division in 2021. In his seven middleweight bouts, Adesanya has staved off 55 of 66 attempted takedowns.

Whittaker's pedigree in wrestling is well documented, with the 31-year-old having qualified to represent Australia in the Commonwealth Games in 2018. While he didn't shoot for – or really even threaten – a single takedown in their first encounter, he said it was definitely something he had in his repertoire this time around – but it was just one of many tools at his disposal.

"My game plan isn't as simple as 'take him down'. That's not my game plan. My game plan is much more than that, but also much looser than that," Whittaker explained.

"A fight is a living thing. You're in there, and he's actively trying to work his game plan in and stop yours, and I'm doing the same. In that, at the highest level, you can't have solid game plans. There aren't simple set game plans that you can execute and work that easily because the level is too high.

"At the absolute highest level we can do it all; we can wrestle, we can grapple, we can strike – so it's much more complicated than that.

"The room for error is non-existent; you can't make mistakes at this level. For us, going in there, we just have to get in there and put it all together as best we can. Sometimes it just doesn't go your way; you can do everything right, and it just doesn't go your way."