Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker isn’t letting a little thing like a second loss to Israel Adesanya stand in his way. Bobby Knuckles told Submission Radio that he’s proud of his performance in their rematch at UFC 271, and believed right up until Bruce Buffer announced the decision that he’d won the fight.
“It’s been funny because there’s that underlying current of disappointment that I didn’t get the nod, that I didn’t walk away with the W, as I believe I should have.
Whittaker Believes He’s “The Best Middleweight in the World”, despite Second Adesanya Loss
But in saying that, on the back of it though, I’m very… I have that satisfied feeling, cause I went in there and I took it to him and I believe I made a great account of myself.
I really, really took it to him. Really, really took it to him. To the point where, I don’t know, I’m satisfied with my performance. I want more from it, I think every fighter does. I don’t think a fighter goes into a fight and be like, ‘Well, that’s the best you’ll ever see of me.’
But it’s one of those things, coming off that first fight with him, changing things up, I improved, I evolved, and I went in there and I gave it to him.”
Although he lost the decision, Whittaker says, he still believes he’s the better fighter. Does that mean he’ll be fighting for the belt once again?
“I lost the decision. But I’m the best middleweight in the world, and I know this. It screams in my soul.
And knowing that, taking that from the fight, especially after the first fight because of the way the first fight went down, it wasn’t a close fight. It was a bad performance on my end and a great performance on his. So I took back a lot of the things that were lost in a fight like that. Because people don’t say, did you lose confidence? You don’t lose confidence, it’s just not quite the same. It’s always there lingering.
I guarantee you I am 200 times better from this last fight than I was before it. It’s inevitable for another fight down the line. There’s definitely going to be another fight down the line.”
Whittaker has a long way to go before he’ll be considered for another shot at UFC gold, but it’s clear that he isn’t short on confidence. Is Robert Whittaker really the best middleweight in the world? Let us know in the comments.
