“Israel’s Biggest Opponent Is Himself”: Robert Whittaker Makes Bold Prediction for Adesanya vs. Shara Magomedov

Israel Adesanya is set to headline a UFC Fight Night event in Riyadh on December 5, where he will take on the seasoned striker.

The former middleweight champion is currently going through a rough patch and is on a four-fight losing streak. As a result, this is a crucial fight in his career. 

However, his former opponent Robert Whittaker believes Adesanya’s biggest challenge will be overcoming himself to secure the win.

Robert Whittaker Makes Bold Prediction on Israel Adesanya vs. Shara Magomedov

Israel Adesanya won his last fight in 2023 against Alex Pereira, reclaiming the middleweight title. Since then, he has suffered four consecutive losses against Sean Strickland, Nassourdine Imavov, Dricus Du Plessis, and Joe Pyfer. He has been finished in three of those four defeats.

However, Adesanya has now made changes to his team ahead of the Magomedov fight and described the experience as one of the best of his career. Whittaker is backing him to turn things around with the new setup.

“I think the real fight here is Israel versus himself. I want to see Izzy come in the way Izzy of old, you know, his head switched on, focus, laser focus. I think he beats the brakes off Shara, to be honest. I have Izzy all day,” Whittaker said during the MMArcade podcast. 

Adesanya and Whittaker have crossed paths twice in the UFC. In 2019, ‘The Last Stylebender’ defeated Whittaker via TKO. In their 2022 rematch, Adesanya once again got the better of him, this time via unanimous decision. However, the two have since settled their differences outside the Octagon and are now on good terms.

Whittaker also suffered back-to-back losses in the middleweight division. As a result, he moved up to light heavyweight. He made his debut in the division with a finish and is now set to face Bogdan Guskov in Australia in February.