Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker make weight for middleweight title rematch at UFC 271 in Houston

HOUSTON — One of the most anticipated rematches in UFC middleweight history is now official.

Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker both weighed 184 pounds Friday morning for their title fight Saturday night. Adesanya will defend his belt against Whittaker, the former champ, in the main event of UFC 271 here at Toyota Center.

ESPN has Adesanya ranked No. 2 and Whittaker ranked No. 9 on its MMA pound-for-pound rankings. At middleweight, Adesanya is No. 1 and Whittaker is No. 2.

Adesanya (21-1) beat Whittaker for the title via second-round knockout at UFC 243 in October 2019. The Nigerian-born New Zealander is undefeated in his career at middleweight, with his only loss coming at light heavyweight in a UFC title fight against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 last March. Adesanya, 32, has three UFC middleweight title defenses.

Whittaker (23-5) has won three straight after dropping the title to Adesanya three years ago. The New Zealand-born Australian has won 12 of his last 13 fights overall. Whittaker, 31, held the interim or undisputed UFC middleweight title from 2017 to 2019. «The Reaper,» a former Ultimate Fighter winner, was the UFC's first-ever Australian champion.