Robert Whittaker refuses to think about Israel Adesanya or anyone else at middleweight until after the birth of his newborn.
UFC President Dana White told media at the UFC 254 post-fight press conference that a rematch between Adesanya and Whittaker makes the most sense. Whittaker subsequently told the press he would not pursue any fight after the New Year.
"March, April. Yeah, hopefully," he said of a potential timeline for his next fight. "I have Christmas and the newborn in January. I don't want to be thinking about a fight in the lead up to my newborn. With all my kids, I've been thinking about fights. I've had my mind elsewhere and I wasn't in the moment. I refuse to do that to this one."
"He's a tough fight, man. I'm not stoked to fight him. He's a hard fight, he's so good. He only looked better in his last fight. And the fact he beat me once already. But I feel I have a couple of tricks I can roll out. I think I can play it differently this time," Whittaker said of Adesanya. "My plans are Christmas, my baby and then hopefully are timelines lineup."
Keep up with Fightful for all your UFC 254 coverage.
Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates and predictions.
