What Should Robert Whittaker Do Next?

Whittaker unconscious and without his Middleweight belt.

Nonetheless, there is no doubt that Whittaker must still be feeling massively disappointed. In fact, it is likely that his disappointment has grown as he has had time to analyse the fight. Whittaker would have been confident ahead of the fight, coming into it after three straight wins. In fact, his last defeat was against Adesanya at UFC 243 roughly 2.5 years ago.

There is no doubt that Whittaker was better prepared second time around and he had clearly learnt from their last meeting. Things did not go well in the first round, but then Whittaker seemed to relax and adjusted his style. He made the most of his wrestling experience to earn numerous takedowns against a fighter for whom this would have been a rare experience. It was certainly a good plan especially since Whittaker could not close the distance on his much taller opponent.

However, in the end, it just wasn’t enough and Whittaker failed to get revenge or reclaim his title. Regardless of what Whittaker thinks, this second loss to Adesanya could delay his path to another title fight, especially while Adesanya holds the belt. Nonetheless, it is clear that Whittaker is desperate for another chance.

Speaking at the press conference after the fight he described a third meeting between the two as “inevitable”. It is also reported that Adesanya told Whittaker that they will be meeting again in the future.

It is clear that Whittaker has great respect for his opponent, saying that he can’t see him losing the belt in the near future and repeatedly stressing how good he was in the press conference. Nonetheless, Whittaker insisted that he was the man to beat him and that his mission remains unchanged.

This means that Whittaker now needs to start planning his journey to a third fight. It seems inevitable that his next opponent will be Marvin Vettori. Vettori, known as “The Italian Dream”, recently pulled off a huge win against Paulo Cosa, which was his first victory having failed against Adesanya in their championship bout.

Vettori is certainly in good form. He has a 5-1 record in his last six fights as a middleweight and is currently ranked second in the division. It is likely that Vettori also wants another chance to take the belt off Adesanya and a win over Whittaker seems like a good way to ensure he gets it. Conversely, if Whittaker defeats Vettori, it will ensure that he maintains the No. 1 ranking and will certainly take him closer to a title match with Adesanya.