Welcome to The Weekly Takedown, Sports Illustrated’s in-depth look at MMA. Every Thursday, this column offers insight and information on the most noteworthy topics in the fight world.
Israel Adesanya defends his middleweight title this Saturday against Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271.
The first meeting between the two took place in October of 2019, when Adesanya knocked out Whittaker in a title unification bout at UFC 243. Part of the broadcast team that night was UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, who is scheduled to be back on the headset for the rematch on Saturday.
