Robert Whittaker eyes a championship fight with Adesanya

UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (20-4) has praised the performance of the unbeaten interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (17-0) who defeated Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236. According to "The Reaper", the Nigerian-born Kiwi showed "a lot of heart", but he's "hittable".

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Whittaker was supposed to fight Kelvin Gastelum in February but the champion was rushed to hospital for abdominal surgery on the morning of the scheduled bout.

"He showed a lot of heart. He got hit a little bit and came back," said Whittaker. He was very accurate, with high volume. It was a very impressive win.

"He's hittable. I'm better at striking than Gastelum. I'm going to punch him and I am very, very good at it, very fast and hit hard and he doesn't like getting hit."

UFC President Dana White said that a potential championship fight between Whittaker and Adesanya will be held in Australia, as this will be without a doubt the biggest martial arts event in the history of the continent.