UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will defend his belt against Israel Adesanya in Melbourne on Sunday and while the simple view is to label this as Australia vs Aotearoa, Whittaker's connection to Aotearoa can't be under-stated. Born in Aotearoa to a maori mother (Samoan lineage also), Whittaker has consistently highlighted his maori heritage and having done a bunch of work for troubled youth in Australia, Whittaker has also consistently mentioned his desire to do such work in Aotearoa.

Whittaker's rise has coincided with him re-connecting to his whanau in Aotearoa, which is a beautiful thing and for many, Whittaker represents a growing group of folks who have equal connection to Australia and Aotearoa. Because Adesanya is the biggest, best fighter out of Aotearoa right now, the idea that this bout is Australia vs Aotearoa is understandable. The fabulous note for kiwis to enjoy is that this event hits a nek level when viewed as a couple #KiwiUFC fighters putting on a show at the highest level.

Interestingly, Whittaker has not fought since June 2018 and his two fights vs Yoel Romero (July 2017, June 2018) are his last two fights. Through illness and injury, Whittaker missed out on a fair amount of action inside the octago and for context; Adesanya's UFC journey started in February 2018 and he has had six fights since.

Six fights and a wave of momentum vs one fight and a lot of time off. That's part of the funk around this fight as Whittaker has done the complete opposite to Adesanya over the past 12-18 months and we will be treated to a minor experiment as to what type of preparation seems more effective for these two specific fighters. I'd suggest that Whittaker's skills would have improved significantly since the last time we saw him fight given his time invested in training.

Here's a bunch of Whittaker stuff for you to enjoy...

Check out the top finishes from UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Whittaker defends his belt against interim champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 243. Subscribe to get all the latest UFC content: http://bit.ly/2uJRzRR Experience UFC live with UFC FIGHT PASS, the digital subscription service of the UFC.

Subscribe to GrangeTV on YouTube: http://bit.ly/SubscribeGrangeTV Official website of Robert Whittaker: https://www.robwhittaker.co Find Grange TV at the following locations: Grange TV - Vodcast ► Watch GrangeTV on Twitch: http://bit.ly/GrangeTV_Twitch ► Watch GrangeTV on Vimeo: http://bit.ly/GrangeTV_Vimeo ► Watch GrangeTV on Periscope: http://bit.ly/GrangeTV_Periscope GrangeTV Podcast ► Listen to GrangeTV on iTunes: http://bit.ly/GrangeTV_iTunes

Take a look back at middleweight champion Robert Whittaker's last fight, a five-round war with Yoel Romero and one of the best fights of 2018. Whittaker faces interim champion Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 243 on Saturday, October 5.

55 Robert Whittaker Live - Question and Answer Get the latest Robert Whittaker Merchandise at http://bit.ly/RobertWhittakerMerchandise Robert Whittaker on Social Media: ► Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobertWhittakerMMA ► Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robwhittakermma ► Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/robwhittakermma ► Follow on Twitch: https://m.twitch.tv/robwhittakermma/profile Grange TV on Social Media: ► Like on Facebook:

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54 Robert Whittaker discusses his training camp for UFC 243 and battles with depression Get the latest Robert Whittaker Merchandise at http://bit.ly/RobertWhittakerMerchandise Robert Whittaker on Social Media: ► Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobertWhittakerMMA ► Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robwhittakermma ► Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/robwhittakermma ► Follow on Twitch: https://m.twitch.tv/robwhittakermma/profile Grange TV on

At UFC 213, Robert Whittaker defeated Yoel Romero to become the interim middleweight champ. We'll discuss how his prepared takedown defense strategy paid off. Plus, we'll go into the rest of the card including Anthony Pettis's strong performance, Travis Browne's loss, Justin Gaethje's incredible win at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale against Michael Johnson, Alistair Overeem's close decision over Fabricio Werdum and more.

Luke Thomas tells us all he can about Robert Whittaker's offensive wrestling. MORNING KOMBAT WITH LUKE THOMAS AND BRIAN CAMPBELL, Showtime's first live digital series, spotlights the weekend's biggest news from the world of combat sports. MORNING KOMBAT airs live every Monday at 12 PM ET / 9 AM PT.

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Peace and love 27.