Robert Whittaker has shared his thoughts on Alex Pereira’s plan to immediately rematch Magomed Ankalaev.
The light heavyweight duo met with a world title on the line at UFC 313 in Las Vegas earlier this month.
Alex Pereira lost his belt via a unanimous decision from the judges cageside at the T-Mobile Arena.
Post-fight, Dana White claimed he’d ‘probably’ book an immediate rematch before both fighters publicly claimed they were relishing the thought of running back their 25-minute scrap.
Magomed Ankalaev vs Alex Pereira 2 predicted
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker backed Alex Pereira to win ahead of UFC 313.
After watching ‘Poatan’ fall sort, ‘The Reaper’ is writing him off ahead of a potential rematch with Magomed Ankalaev.
Robert Whittaker believes Alex Pereira will lose even more convincingly in a second fight with the Russian.
“I think the hype and confidence train that Pereira had, that if he touches you, you’re going to go out sort of vibe, is now moot-ish because Ankalaev didn’t die,” Whittaker said on the MMArcade podcast.
“Like, he didn’t go to sleep when Alex punched him. I think it gave him so much confidence that it’s almost lent itself to why he’s asking for that rematch straight away.
“He’s like, all the boogeyman vibes, all the mysteries and uncertainties are now gone.
“I can beat him. He is very beatable, he is human, like anybody else.
“I honestly think Ankalaev does better. I think it’s not as close as it just was.
“I don’t see the second fight going any differently.”
What’s next for Robert Whittaker?
Whittaker hasn’t fought since Khamzat Chimaev caved in his teeth with a rear naked choke at UFC 308 last October.
On Saturday night, Roman Dolidze named him on his two-man hitlist after beating Marvin Vettori.
“I’m trying to fight a top-five guy, dude,” Whittaker responded.
“Join the queue. I wanna fight Sean [Strickland]. International Fight Week.”
UFC 317 will headline the promotion’s 13th annual International Fight Week this coming June.
It’s currently unclear if June works for Strickland as the former middleweight champion is currently healing up after getting his nose obliterated during a five-round decision defeat against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312 last month.
“I think Strickland makes a good argument to have because I feel like we’ve both been in that top sort of pond for a while circling each other,” Whittaker said. “For whatever reason, we haven’t been matched up but we’ve both been in proximity for a while.
“It’s most likely the fight to make, I’m excited about that fight. I look at his style and I find it curious. I find it exciting to try to work out.”