What’s next for Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker after UFC 271?

In the main event of UFC 271, the middleweight title was up for grabs as Israel Adesanya was looking to defend his belt as he was rematching Robert Whittaker.

Adesanya entered the fight coming off a decision win over Marvin Vettori to defend his belt. Whittaker, meanwhile, was on a three-fight winning streak, this since originally losing his belt to Adesanya back in 2019.

Early on, Adesanya had success as he dropped Whittaker in the first and was chopping his front leg leg up. However, as the fight went on, Whittaker started to have success as he began mixing in his wrestling with his striking. When the fight went to the scorecards, it was a super close fight but, in the end, it was Adesanya getting the decision. Now, after UFC 271 here is what I think should be next for both fighters.

Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya has started to clear out the middleweight division as he has defended his belt four times. He has also beat four fighters ranked in the top five and has looked impressive in doing so.

Although Adesanya has already beaten Whittaker and Marvin Vettori twice, his next fight is clear as it should be against Jared Cannonier. “The Killa Gorilla” had a vicious KO win over Derek Brunson at UFC 271 which cemented himself as the divisions number contender. It’s also a fresh matchup for Adesanya so the fight should happen sometime in the summer.

Robert Whittaker

Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker after UFC 271

Robert Whittaker is in a weird spot at middleweight as he is 0-2 to Adesanya but he has proven he is better than all the other middleweights. The good news for Whittaker is he is a fan-favorite and this fight was close enough that a third fight is not out of the picture.

In order to get the trilogy fight, Whittaker will need to string together a few wins in a row. His next fight should be against Marvin Vettori, as the Italian is also 0-2 against Adesanya and out of the title picture. The fight would ensure that neither man has the chance of beating a potential title contender and would certainly make sense given their current rankings.

Whittaker vs. Vettori would make a perfect Fight Night main event for this summer where the winner would still need another win or two to get a title shot. The loser, meanwhile, will likely have to face someone ranked well below them and defend their spot for the next couple of appearances.

What do you think should be next for Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker after UFC 271?