Jeff Smith 
@adminRob Whittaker’s expected title shot against Israel Adesanya has been put on hold…for now. In an unexpected announcement UFC president Dana White announced that Adesanya will be facing Marvin Vettori at UFC 263 on June 13.
The announcement took a lot of people off guard as everyone figured Whittaker would get the next fight against Adesanya with his defeat of Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Vegas 24. It was reported that Whittaker actually was offered the match by the UFC, but the turnaround time between fights was just too short.
He told ESPN,
“More or less, I was offered the fight about an hour after my fight with Gastelum,” [but] “There was just no way, physically, I could do that. Not only do I have injuries from that last fight to deal with, I have to fly home to Australia, and then two weeks in isolation. I have to see how my body was feeling, and then I’d have to prepare; all by June. It was impossible.”
He continued on adding,
“I can see what Izzy is trying to do. He’s trying to get me to accept the fight injured, on short notice, with all odds against me, but there was just no way I could get there physically. I do want that fight, and my next fight will be for the title. It has to be. He was just really adamant about fighting on that date and I can’t do it. I’m happy to fight the winner after.”
And that is exactly what White said will be happening. White told ESPN Whittaker would be going up against the winner, whoever it might be. “The Reaper” said he was fine with either, as long as he is fighting for the title.
For Vettori things couldn’t have worked out better. Sitting ringside at Vegas 24, he was yelling for a fight against Whittaker for the number one ranking, instead, he now gets a championship bout with “The Last Stylebender”.
The last time Vettori and Adesanya locked horns the fight went to an extremely close split decision in favor of Adesanya. “The Italian Dream” has since taken down all five of the opponents he has faced in impressive wins, and currently is ranked third in the welterweight division.
Despite Vettori’s wins he is a heavy underdog as the opening line on him sits at best +190, to a low of +220. That +220 might be a pretty good bet, Vettori has given Adesanya his hardest match so far, and he has really raised his game since then. He has a great skill set and manages to elevate himself against better opposition.
Adesanya comes in between -244 to -275, a clear favorite. With only one loss on his record to light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz, he has dominated all his fights with his incredible power and high IQ.
If you ask Whittaker who he thinks will win… well,
“I don’t care who wins. Whatever. I hope they beat the hell out of each other to be honest.”
