Robert Whittaker reveals what Israel Adesanya must avoid 'at all costs' as he predicts UFC Saudi Arabia main event
01/27/2025 07:11 PM
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker spent time with Israel Adesanya during the final days of his camp.
Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker share plenty of history during their decorated UFC careers. They’ve faced off twice for the UFC middleweight title with Adesanya getting the better of Whittaker on both occasions.
But Whittaker and Adesanya recently put their past rivalry aside in a collaboration that made waves on social media. Whittaker and Adesanya got some training in together ahead of their returns to the Octagon and even filmed a UFC 311 breakdown video together afterward.
Adesanya will face a stiff test in Nassourdine Imavov in the UFC Riyadh main event this Saturday. While he’s faced opponents with Imavov’s style, Imavov’s well-rounded skillset makes it a difficult task, especially coming off of consecutive defeats.
According to Whittaker, Adesanya needs to avoid one of Imavov’s greatest strengths as he attempts to break his losing skid.
- READ MORE:Islam Makhachev plans permanent move in division as UFC has 'no one to fight' at lightweight
Robert Whittaker presses Israel Adesanya to avoid one scenario at UFC Riyadh
In a recent episode of the MMArcade podcast, Whittaker broke down the UFC Riyadh main event.
“Imavov’s grappling is very good. He gets the back of just about every opponent he fights. That’s kind of where the fight wins for him,” Whittaker said. “He doesn’t beat Izzy in a five-round striking contest; he takes him down, tries to get his back, gets his back, and then whether or not Izzy defends that position and gets out it…the idea with Adesanya moving into the fight is going to be to not give up the back at all costs…
“Granted it’s such a clear-cut direction for Imavov to try to achieve, because like I said, every fight he’s had he gets the back. Gets that body triangle and just works it…that’s the fight we’re going to see. Adesanya trying to keep his space, piece him up, and Imavov trying to bully him up against the fence, close distance, try to take him down and get his back.”
Adesanya is looking to build back better after title losses to Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland. An impressive performance against Imavov this weekend could potentially earn Adesanya another title shot.
Israel Adesanya looks to snap first UFC losing streak vs. surging contender
But Imavov has plenty of reasons to feel confident ahead of the biggest fight of his career. He’s earned recent wins over Brendan Allen, Jared Cannonier, and Roman Dolidze during his march up the middleweight ladder.
Adesanya will appear in his first non-title fight since defeating UFC Hall of Famer Anderson Silva at UFC 234. Two fights later, he knocked out Whittaker for the lineal UFC middleweight title in Melbourne.
Adesanya is hoping to put on a similar performance against Imavov that he did against Silva in his last non-title bout. After working with Whittaker during his fight camp, Adesanya will look to follow the advice of his newfound ally.
