Israel Adesanya predicts Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya isn’t expecting Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev to go the full distance at UFC 308.

Whittaker and Chimaev battle in a potential No. 1 contender fight at UFC 308 this Saturday in Abu Dhabi. The co-main event is one of the most anticipated co-headliners in recent memory based on the decorated runs of both stars.

Fighters, pundits, and fans are split evenly as to who they believe will emerge victorious in Whittaker vs. Chimaev. However, a common theme emerges, and that is that Whittaker will need to stifle Chimaev’s wrestling for his best chance to win.

Adesanya is picking Whittaker, his two-time rival, to hand Chimaev his first career loss.

Israel Adesanya sides with former rival Robert Whittaker over Khamzat Chimaev

During a recent breakdown on his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Adesanya picked Whittaker to stop Chimaev.

“I just think Rob is a guy not to be fucked with,” Adesanya said. “Look at his last fight, hopefully, people will remember who he is now. I think Rob will do it again, definitely not as early, I don’t think so. I just think he’ll catch him later on. But he has to weather the storm, he has to survive until he can’t…

“I’m gonna go Rob with this one with the late finish. Round 4.”

Adesanya’s prediction is similar to Max Holloway‘s. While Holloway didn’t predict an exact method/round, he picked Whittaker to win.

Whittaker enters UFC 308 with a lot of momentum after defeating Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov earlier this year. He was supposed to face Chimaev at UFC Saudi Arabia in June before Chimaev withdrew due to illness.

Chimaev returns to middleweight after defeating Kamaru Usman in his divisional debut at UFC 294. He’s defeated the likes of Gilbert Burns, Li Jingliang, and Kevin Holland during his promotional tenure.