Israel Adesanya (champion) and Robert Whittaker (#1) are two of the best strikers in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. While both fighters are known for their striking, their striking methods are very different.
Adesanya’s Strengths
- Octagon awareness
- Great set-ups
- Great kicks
- Great feints
- Distance management
Adesanya’s Weaknesses
- Leans back when pressured
Whittaker’s Strengths
- Good striking
- Good grappling
- Explosive
- In-and-out movement
Whittaker’s Weaknesses
- Drops his hands most of the time
What does Adesanya need to do to win?
Adesanya is one of the best strikers in the UFC (if not the best). He does a great job of utilizing his height and his reach; often positioning himself in relatively safe spaces where he can land damaging shots while his opponents have a hard time doing the same. Furthermore, Adesanya does a great job of setting up his attacks, often using feints to make his opponents move in a certain direction. This allows him to create traps and forces his opponents to play his game, which requires a lot of thinking and intuition simultaneously. To win against Whittaker requires Adesanya to follow a similar game plan as the first fight; maintain the distance, get Whittaker to overreach, and counter. However, unlike the first fight, Adesanya cannot lean back when punch-pressured. This is because Whittaker has a great in-and-out movement, considering Whittaker has made adjustments from the previous fight – it could cause Adesanya huge trouble.
What does Whittaker need to do to win?
Similar to Adesanya, Whittaker is also one of the best strikers in the UFC. However, what makes Whittaker great is very different from what makes Adesanya great. Whittaker does a great job of utilizing in-and-out movement and lands big shots as he does it. The in-and-out movement creates a sense of urgency for both fighters and forces Whittaker’s opponents to strike regardless of how well they are positioned, and since Whittaker is the one doing the movement – he has a better chance of landing those shots (especially when Whittaker times it correctly). To win against Adesanya requires Whittaker to utilize his in-and-out movement, with a slight twist. Whittaker has to pressure Adesanya with his punches just enough to force Adesanya to lean back and as Adesanya leans back Whittaker has to kick either Adesanya’s legs or his body then come right out before Adesanya has the chance to counter. Once Whittaker lands enough shots to Adesanya’s legs and body then Whittaker can go for the head. In addition, with this fight, Whittaker has to keep his hands up a lot more than his other fights – because keeping hands down against a taller opponent with more reach and better set-ups can be disastrous.
Prediction
This is a very interesting fight, technically and stylistically. I think it will be a close one and I’m expecting it to go much longer than the first fight. Both fighters possess the skills and tools to beat each other, but I do think that Adesanya’s building blocks for his striking game are much more secure than Whittaker’s building blocks.
