Robert Whittaker
Former middlweight title-holder Robert Whittaker is in a tough spot. The clear number-one contender in the UFC’s 185-pound weight class, Whittaker defeated the third and fourth ranked middleweights earlier this year. Unfortunately for Whittaker, those wins came after a relatively recent lopsided loss to current division champ Israel Adesanya in October of 2019.
While #2 Paulo Costa is still out there, and the rise of fresh faces Marvin Vettori and Kevin Holland into the rankings could provide new challenges, Whittaker’s issues with a title shot could have less to do with him, and more to do with the promotion’s plans for Adesanya in 2021.
By the sounds of it, Adesanya is headed to challenge Jan Blachowicz for his recently acquired light heavyweight title next year, in order to setup a potential bout with former light heavyweight champ Jon Jones. If Izzy heads to 205-pounds, that’ll leave Whittaker waiting for a potential rematch down the road, or an interim/vacant title bout.
Speaking of light heavyweight…
