Robert Whittaker on Israel Adesanya: ‘If [Kelvin] Gastelum Can Hit Him, I Can Hit Him’

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Robert Whittaker will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon on Saturday night where he will defend his middleweight title for the first time against the interim champ Israel Adesanya when the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Melbourne, Australia, for the biggest fight in Australian combat history.

The highly-anticipated matchup has been given extra spice given the rich sporting history between Australia and New Zealand in a number of sports -- including cricket and rugby -- although this will be the first time in combat sports that the stakes between the countries have been this high.

Ahead of the match-up, Whittaker was asked if he could exploit Adesanya, with many feeling the Aussie will hold a clear advantage in wrestling and on the ground. “The Reaper,” who talked with BJPenn.com, believes Adesanya’s wrestling is sound and said in the fight against Kelvin Gastelum back in April he saw holes in the interim champ’s striking defense.

“No, I don’t think it was the wrestling. I think it was the fact that Gastelum could put hands on him. I think people underestimate Adesanya’s wrestling,” Whittaker explained. “Adesanya’s wrestling; he is a big guy, long arms, and he wrestles and trains in it a lot. I don’t underestimate that. But, what I took from the fight was Gastelum was able to close that gap and land shots on his chin. I am much quicker than Gastelum, taller than Gastelum, have longer arms than Gastelum. If Gastelum can hit him, I can hit him.

“I definitely believe this is a fight I can finish and I have 25-minutes to go for it. That is all I am going to do,” he said.

“I will be able to close the gap. I’m faster, hit hard and I don’t go away,” he added.