UFC commentator and former two-division champion Daniel Cormier believes that Robert Whittaker is one of the finest middleweights on the planet. Unfortunately, as he discussed on DC & RC, he hasn’t figured out how to defeat the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, and so “The Reaper” needs to see a changing of the guard before he’ll get the chance to recapture UFC gold.
“I think Robert Whittaker is so clearly ahead of everyone else. When you put him in there, he’s just gonna keep winning, and that is where the problem lies in the middleweight division, because you have a clear No.1, and you have a clear No. 2. You have a clear No. 1-A essentially, because outside of Robert Whittaker losing to Izzy, nobody else can beat him.
DC: Whittaker Will Never Beat Adesanya, Needs “Change at the Top”
He’s better than everyone but the champion, which is not something to be ashamed of when you’ve held the championship before. So for him, it’s not as much about going out there and beating everyone else. It’s beating everyone else but also hoping for a little bit of luck. He needs Alex Pereira to win the fight in November.
It’s not about getting back to Izzy. He needs change at the top, because he doesn’t seem to have the style to really deal with Adesanya’s length. His issue with Adesanya is Adesanya is too tall. The style makes it difficult for him, but he’ll beat everyone else.”
As DC pointed out, Whittaker might get his chance. Israel Adesanya is set to defend his title against Alex Pereira, who boasts two victories over Adesanya from their GLORY kickboxing days. A change in the middleweight title landscape might be just around the corner. “He needs something different to happen at middleweight.
Something very definitive. So if Pereira goes out there, and he starches Izzy, then maybe you start going, ‘Maybe Izzy cannot fight him right back,’ because if you remember, Jose Aldo got knocked out so clearly [by Conor McGregor] that they moved on. Leon Edwards can’t move on, because he was getting beaten and then he got the finish at the end [against Kamaru Usman].
But if Pereira can do something very definitive, that is what Robert Whittaker needs if he hopes to find himself fighting for a championship again. Something definitive in a win from Alex Pereira. If it ain’t definitive, Izzy will get an immediate rematch even if he loses.”
Is DC right about Robert Whittaker’s chances of middleweight gold? Let us know in the comments.
