Robert Whittaker Backs Caio Borralho as Israel Adesanya’s Next Challenge Post-UFC 305 Loss: “To Retain His Place”

Israel Adesanya is at a crossroads in his career at the moment, having lost three of his last four fights and this includes two failed title shots as well. So, his next fight will either cement his place as a gatekeeper in the division or show everyone that he still has enough juice to climb back up the mountain. In the midst of this, former opponent Robert Whittaker feels there is a perfect fight out there for ‘Izzy’.

Whittaker recently sat down for an interview with ‘Submission Radio’, where the host asked Whittaker what he made of a potential fight between Adesanya and middleweight hot shot, Caio Borralho. Whittaker said,

“Maybe, I think Adesanya is in a position where he needs to fight a guy like that. He needs to retain his place. I am sure Caio wants to jump at the opportunity.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UFC (@ufc)

Borralho has already made a statement with a brilliant win over Jared Cannonier this past weekend, following which he called out the middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis for a fight.

However, the young Brazilian will need to beat a few more names before getting to the top, which is where ‘Izzy’ comes in. Borralho vs Adesanya could be what Dustin Poirier vs Benoit Saint-Denis was for the lightweight division. 

‘The Diamond’ was at a crossroads as well earlier this year, having been knocked out by Justin Gaethje. The 35-year-old then took a massive gamble by taking on a rising star similar to Borralho in Saint-Denis.

And despite an early onslaught, he secured an impressive knockout win to prove that he is still the man at 155-pounds. The win also got him a shot at the title immediately after.

Adesanya can take a page out of Poirier’s playbook and hope it works out for him as it did for ‘The Diamond’.  Despite the loss against DDP, he sure looked good, or at least that what Whittaker thinks

Whittaker praises Adesanya despite DDP loss

IThe Australian fighter remained adamant that Adesanya looked “great” in the title fight at UFC 305, even saying it might have been one of the best versions of “The Last Stylebender” we’ve ever seen in the octagon.

But Whittaker also pointed out a crucial mistake Adesanya made against Du Plessis. According to him, the only way to beat Du Plessis is to completely put him away.

Whittaker believes that “DDP” is like a zombie—he just keeps coming unless you finish him off. It’s a mistake Adesanya made, and Whittaker is determined not to repeat it when he eventually faces Du Plessis himself at the top of the helm.