“I think I realized how much I want to fight Izzy,” the Australian told Submission Radio. “If Alex beat Izzy, I would fight him and I wanted this fight because I need a belt, but this is not the same as taking away the title from Adesanya”
“Ever since I lost to Izzy, I’ve been asked a lot of times, ‘Which do you want more, fight Izzy or just fight for the belt?’ and I’ve always said I don’t care. Now I understand that this is not so. I want to fight for the belt with Izzy and take it from him. I know that I can solve this puzzle and it energizes and motivates me.”
The former UFC champion admits that Israel Adesanya’s victory over Alex Pereira messed up his plans.
“Because of Izzy’s victory, I am in a difficult position, I know it. If Pereira had won, I would have fought him, beat him, and then Izzy would have fought me. I’m sure it would have been, but Izzy won. What position does this put me in? Alex moves up to light heavyweight. What should I do? I don’t know, but I will never stop hunting Adesanya.”
Robert Whittaker faced Israel Adesanya twice, losing to the Nigerian by knockout in a unification bout in 2019 and losing to the champion by unanimous decision last year. The Australian fighter currently sits second in the UFC middleweight division, but will be in first place after Alex Pereira, who moved up to the light heavyweight division, is removed from the rankings.