UFC Predictions: UFC 271: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2

The world’s biggest MMA promotion heads to Houston, Texas this weekend for a major show in the form of UFC 271: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2.

UFC 271 features a huge main event with the middleweight title on the line, as well as a number of other intriguing bouts that are bound to deliver some great action.

So with plenty to both lose and gain inside the octagon this weekend, which fighters will rise and who will fall?

Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC 271: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2.

#1. UFC middleweight title: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker

It seems far longer than just over two years since Israel Adesanya downed Robert Whittaker to claim the UFC middleweight title in Melbourne. Much of that has to do with the fact that, unlike many of the other champions on the roster, Adesanya has been extremely active since winning the title.

‘The Last Stylebender’ has made three successful defenses, beating Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori. He also attempted to become a double champion, only to fall at the hands of then-UFC light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz.

Whittaker, meanwhile, took plenty of time away following his defeat to Adesanya. However, since his return to the UFC in 2020, he’s beaten Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum.

There’s little debate that these are the best two 185lbers on the planet, so who will come out on top this time?

It’s probably fair to suggest that the fight should be closer than the initial meeting, that simply saw Adesanya use Whittaker’s aggression against him, countering wonderfully and landing enough clean strikes to knock ‘The Reaper’ out in the second round.

Whittaker surely knows this time that he can’t over-reach like that and he does seem to have shifted his fighting style somewhat, beating Till and Cannonier in particular with a more counter-based, point-fighting game.

However, despite those changes, it’s still hard to see him outright beating Adesanya on the feet. He isn’t as quick as the champion, isn’t quite as accurate and it’s likely that due to the damage he’s taken over the years, he isn’t quite as durable either.

So can ‘The Reaper’ win at all? Well, there is a clear gameplan for him to use, as Blachowicz defeated Adesanya by wearing on him in the clinch and then using takedowns to ground-and-pound his way to victory.

Can Whittaker copy that? The big question stands around his takedowns. Whittaker is an awesome defensive wrestler, but we’ve never really seen him shoot for double legs. More importantly, he lacks the size and strength advantage that Blachowicz enjoyed over Adesanya.

Overall, ‘The Reaper’ is good enough to make this competitive, but unless he finds that he can ground Adesanya consistently and hold him down, then it’s hard to see a path to victory for him against a faster and more accurate striker.

The Pick: Adesanya via fourth round KO