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Robert Whittaker Explains Why Ring Rust is Not a Concern Ahead of UFC 243



When Robert Whittaker steps into the cage to face Israel Adesanya next weekend at UFC 243, it will be his first fight in over a year and only his second in the last 29 months.

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His last two fights -- both epic battles against Yoel Romero -- punctuated long layoffs due to injury or illness, including the hernia surgery that forced him out of a scheduled title defense against Kelvin Gastelum this April, opening the door for Adesanya to edge out Gastelum for the interim middleweight title.

During Wednesday’s UFC 243 conference call, Whittaker was asked if his long layoff from fighting will affect him when he comes face-to-face with the Nigerian-born New Zealand based Adesanya. “The Reaper” maintains that while he believes ring rust is real, he’s stayed busy enough with the right things to ensure he won’t be affected next month (transcript via MMA Junkie).

“I do believe in ring rust if you’re not doing certain things to prepare yourself for competition,” Whittaker said. “If you’re not competing at all, if you haven’t competed at all and you’re not used to the adrenaline dump, not used to the pressure that comes with competing, then certainly the pressure is going to get to you and you might falter.

“I’ve been competing in jiu-jitsu, I’ve been competing in wrestling, I’ve been sparring in ways to increase the pressure and feel that. There’s ways to combat that. I also think once you reach a certain level – I know what to do. I’ve been there before, I’ve felt the pressure before, and I know that come October I’m going to walk in there and do my best.”
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