Robert Whittaker believes Israel Adesanya remains the favorite against Nassourdine Imavov in their upcoming non-title fight, despite Adesanya’s recent losses, citing his counter-fighting skills and previous performance against Dricus du Plessis.
Robert Whittaker has stepped into the octagon with Israel Adesanya twice and Dricus du Plessis once. His experiences have led him to form a hypothesis about Adesanya’s upcoming fight.
Adesanya is gearing up for his first non-title bout in five years. He’ll face Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia on February 1st. In his last outing, he was stopped by du Plessis in Round 4 at UFC 305 in August.
Whittaker believes it was du Plessis’ awkward style—and mainly his brute strength—that made the difference. Can Imavov replicate that?
"Is Imavov as tanky as Dricus?" Whittaker pondered on his podcast MMArcade. "Dricus crafted a solid blueprint to beat Adesanya: make him uncomfortable, pressure him, give him no room to play."
"I think Imavov’s got what it takes," Whittaker said, "but I still see Izzy as the favorite. His counter-style is sharp, and if you avoid his traps, he’ll dissect your game."
Adesanya has lost two in a row and three of his last four. As he steps into the new year, is this fight a "changing of the guard" moment for the division?
Whittaker hesitated to say so, mainly because he doesn’t see Adesanya losing three straight times.
"I don’t know," Whittaker admitted. "Izzy looked strong against Dricus—until he didn’t. I think Izzy beats Imavov."