Robert Whittaker Drops Subtle Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland Rematch Confirmation

Israel Adesanya is in the worst phase of his UFC career since he not only lost the belt a couple of years ago, but is also on a 3-fight losing skid. After his recent loss to Nassourdine Imavov via knockout in the opening round, fans were wondering what could be next for him as he claimed to have a lot left in the tank. A couple of months later, ‘The Last Stylebender’ would open up about his future, expressing an interest in a rematch against Sean Strickland.

UFC 293 witnessed one of the biggest upsets in recent memory as Sean Strickland outclassed Israel Adesanya to claim the UFC title. While the Nigerian-born Kiwi star gave ‘Tarzan’ his props, he didn’t really like the things that were said by the controversial star in the buildup to their clash. As such, Adesanya is hoping to get back at Strickland. “I got to get some get back… Strickland,” the former 2-time champion stated on his YouTube channel.

However, it seems like some fans aren’t really jumping on the bandwagon of making the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. During a recent edition of Robert Whittaker‘s ‘MMArcade’ podcast, a fan asked him about his views on the aforementioned rematch, while deeming it a ‘boring’ fight. Before ‘The Reaper’ gave his verdict on the potential matchup, he appeared to lean towards the possibility that the UFC was considering materializing the rematch.

In response to the fan, Robert Whittaker said, “I think that fight [Adesanya vs Strickland 2] is the one that’s taking place. But who knows what the second fight looks like?” Coming back to the fans calling this rematch a boring one, these sentiments probably stem from the fact that the first encounter wasn’t really a fan-friendly contest, even though Strickland delivered a tactical masterclass.

Moreover, Sean Strickland’s conservative fighting style and Israel Adesanya’s struggles against grapplers and pressure fighters could add to these claims from the fans as well. Despite that, Robert Whittaker is intrigued about the idea of watching the two battle it again, since they’re not really the same fighters they were after their title reigns ended. “Izzy’s a different person than when he lost the belt. So is Sean. As much as people aren’t, I’m kind of curious about that fight,” ‘The Reaper’ added.

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Well, Israel Adesanya may get a title shot soon if he can win one fight, unlike others, because he’s an established star. However, Sean O’Malley’s coach recently revealed that ‘Izzy’ received important advice from a UFC legend about picking his next fight at such a stage in his career. Let’s take a look at that front.

Israel Adesanya gets advice from a UFC legend

UFC Hall of Famer and former 2-weight UFC champion Georges St-Pierre was all over the internet after Israel Adesanya lost to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia. He was in shock, and his reaction spoke a million words about how he was expecting the Nigerian-born Kiwi star to edge past his French counterpart. They may have met up in Riyadh after that fight because Tim Welch claims Adesanya revealed that he spoke to ‘Rush’ about his UFC future.

Last month, there was some leaked footage floating online of Israel Adesanya training with Sean O’Malley. During their session, Tim Welch claims that St-Pierre advised the former 2-time middleweight champion to pick his next fight wisely. Since Adesanya is an established star with no financial issues, the Hall of Famer suggested that ‘The Last Stylebender’ fight only if he has the “hunger” to do it.

“He said GSP gave him good advice. He said, ‘Don’t just take these fights, make sure you’re hungry to take a fight. Especially when you’re at this level and you have enough money. Make sure you’re hungry and you want to do it,'” O’Malley’s coach stated on his YouTube podcast.

Well, what do you have to say about a potential Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland rematch? Drop your comments below.

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