UFC 271: With new outlook, Robert Whittaker expects a better showing vs. Israel Adesanya

Robert Whittaker’s loss to Israel Adesanya two-plus years ago did more than take away his UFC middleweight title and add a loss on his record. It also put him on a path toward healing himself beyond the cuts and bruises and other physical ailments that come with being a mixed martial arts fighter.

"There were a lot of mental things I got sorted post fight, but that I couldn't quite deal with until I had that L," Whittaker said Wednesday during UFC 271 media day in Houston. "And those mental changes stimulated the physical changes that I've made in my game. And in myself."

Whittaker was knocked out in the second round by Adesanya at UFC 243 in front of a home crowd in Melbourne, Australia, in October 2019. It was only the second time Whittaker had been knocked out in a fight, and it made Adesanya the unified middleweight champion and sent his star soaring even higher.

"After the fight, I was just burnt out. I didn’t want to get back in the gym. And if you don't go in the gym, you're not going to be fighting very long," Whittaker, 31, said. "I kind of recognized the signs. I didn't want to jump back in the gym or I wasn't enjoying the game. And I had to sort that out because I wasn't going to drag my feet. This game is too dangerous. This game takes too much out of you to go out like that. So I had to work it out."

Now seemingly on the other side of all that, and after three straight wins, Whittaker again faces Adesanya for the middleweight title. This time, however, he’s the challenger and walks out first to the octagon inside Houston’s Toyota Center on Saturday night to close out UFC 271.

Adesanya, the 32-year-old star who said he just signed a lucrative new deal with the UFC, empathizes with Whittaker’s sentiment.

"He talked about his dark place he went to after the last time I beat him. I've been there, everyone's been there in their own personal way, so I understand. I empathize when you don't want to get up and all that stuff and you lose motivation. So yeah, I'm glad he's pulled himself out of it. I'm glad he's feeling much better, he's a better man, a better fighter, better all that. So, yeah, take him to the dark place again."

Adesanya (21-1) is tied with Long Island’s Chris Weidman for the second most consecutive UFC middleweight title defenses with three, having stopped Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori thus far. Anderson Silva remains the middleweight gold standard with 10 consecutive title defenses, a streak stopped by Weidman in 2013.

"I haven't lost that step. I'm still hungry. You know, I'm 32, I'm fresh. I'm young," Adesanya said. "And I keep saying this week I've got the training camp. I went back to the young Izzy, the kid that was just soaking everything up and just be real curious. Like, how does that work? Oh, let me try that and I'll do it. I'll do it the next day. And I'll be successful at it or if I fail, I'll try it again. So yeah, I haven't lost that step. I never did."

Since their first fight, Whittaker (23-5) has won three in a row, most recently pitching a five-round shutout against Kelvin Gastelum last April. Before that, he won unanimous decisions against Jared Cannonier and Darren Till.

"I think our skill levels are much closer than that first fight dictated, but, I don't know, I lost, so I can't really comment too much, maybe they're not," Whittaker said. "I guess we’ll wait for the second fight to find out. But one thing I do know, though, is I've worked my absolute butt off to get here and to get in there and to give him a much, much better showing than the first one."

By Mark La Monica

mark.lamonica@newsday.comLaMonicaMark

Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.