Israel Adesanya happy to see former rival Robert Whittaker back in the UFC win column

Israel Adesanya praises former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker to recover.

Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) dethroned Whittaker (26-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) to become 185-pound champion at UFC 243. He beat him for the second time in their UFC title fight rematch 271 .

Both fighters are looking to regain the gold. Adesanya returns on August 17th at UFC 305 to challenge middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis in the main event in Perth, Australia. Meanwhile, Whittaker is on a two-fight winning streak after raising his hand against Paulo Costa and, most recently, Ikram Aliskerov.

“I was fighting local hero Rob Whittaker, who had a big win a week or two ago, but I was fighting him here and defending my belt for the first time in enemy territory,” Adesanya said in an interview with “TODAY.” “I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to make a show of it. And I did.

“It (Whittaker’s knockout over Aliskerov) was beautiful. Robbie is that guy. We fought twice. We always have history, but it was good to see him back in the win column, and he’s coming after me, so I have to be ready.”

Just as Adesanya pays tribute to Whittaker, he hopes Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) does the same. A major narrative leading into UFC 305 is how Du Plessis identifies himself as the UFC’s first true African champion – something that left Adesanya offended.

“To me, you have to pay homage to the guys that came before you,” Adesanya said. “He’s the guy who says, ‘I’m the real African champion’, but look, you wouldn’t have been able to do what you’re doing at home in South Africa if I, Francis Ngannou and Kamaru (Usman) did it. We didn’t prepare the way for you. So you have to respect your elders, and I will do that with him.”

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This story originally appeared on MMA Junkie