Israel Adesanya will look to defend his middleweight title for the fourth time as he renews his rivalry with Robert Whittaker - who he knocked out in 2019 - at UFC 271 next weekend: Everything to know ahead of the fight

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Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker will renew their rivalry as they run it back in the Octagon at UFC 271 next weekend in Houston, Texas. 

It was Adesanya who emerged victorious when the pair first locked horns in 2019 as the enigmatic middleweight dethroned Whittaker via a second-round stoppage victory. 

‘The Last Stylebender’ has since suffered his first-ever MMA defeat, falling short against Jan Blachowicz last year as he ventured up to light heavyweight. The 35-year-old remains undefeated as a middleweight, however, and most recently made the third defence of his title against Marvin Vettori.  

An improved Whittaker has fought and won on three occasions since relinquishing his title, including against Britain's Darren Till, and the 31-year-old assures he's an entirely different fighter going into the rematch.  

Elsewhere, Houston hometown favourite Derrick Lewis features in the co-main event against Tai Tuivasa. 

With the intriguing spectacle swiftly approaching, Sportsmail takes you through everything you need to know.   

Israel Adesanya (right) dethroned middleweight rival Robert Whittaker (left) in their 2019 bout

'Stylebender' has looked untouchable at middlweight and is eyeing another title defence

When is Adesanya vs Whittaker 2?

The clash between Adesanya and Whittaker is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 12 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.  

The action will get underway in the early hours of Sunday morning for those in the UK, with the preliminary card starting at 1am and the main card kicking off at 3am.    

Derek Lewis will also be fighting on the card when he takes on Australian Tai Tuivasa

The pair are expected to touch gloves at around 6am, though that will of course depend on the results beforehand. 

As stated, there is also plenty of action on the undercard, with American Lewis set to take on Australian Tuivasa.   

Elsewhere, on the main card, Jared Cannonier takes on Derek Brunson, Kyler Phillips fights Marcelo Rojo and Bobby Green goes up against Nasrat Haqparast. 

How to watch the fight 

UFC 271 will be available to watch on BT Sport 1, with their coverage starting at 1am. 

Those not subscribed to BT Sport can sign up for a contract-free monthly pass for a price of £25. Viewers can then also stream the fight using their app or web player.  

Alternatively, there are a number of BT Sport packages you can sign up for HERE. 

Sportsmail will also be covering the fight live, so you can keep up-to-date with us. 

Adesanya vs Whittaker: The keys stats

Adesanya defeated Marvin Vettori last summer to retain his middleweight title  

Whittaker has claimed three successive wins since he and Adesanya last fought, including against Britain's Darren Till (right)

Fight card in full

Main card

• Israel Adesanya vs Robert Whittaker
• Derrick Lewis vs Tai Tuivasa
• Jared Cannonier vs Derek Brunson
• Kyler Phillips vs Marcelo Rojo
• Bobby Green vs Nasrat Haqparast

Preliminary card

• Roxanne Modafferi vs Casey O’Neill
• Alex Perez vs Matt Schnell
• Ed Herman vs Maxim Grishin
• Leomana Martinez vs Ronnie Lawrence
• Alexander Hernandez vs Renato Moicano
• Carlos Ulberg vs Fabio Cherant
• AJ Dobson vs Jacob Malkoun
• Douglas Silva de Andrade vs Sergey Morozov
• Andrei Arlovski vs. Jared Vanderaa
• Mike Mathetha vs. Jeremiah Wells

What's been said?

Adesanya acknowledges his opponent has made significant improvements since the last time they shared the octagon but assures he will emerge victorious once more. 

'Stylebender', an ambassador for leading cryptocurrency betting and gaming operator Stake, told their website: 'My prediction is that I am going to f*** Whittaker up, again. He can't stand with me, so I know he will be forced to grapple. 

'Last time he said, "Kevin Gastelum has given the blueprint on how to beat Adesanya" and now he's saying, "Jan has given the blueprint"... he needs to write his own blueprint.

'If he wants to copy someone else's work, then by all means try, because it went so well last time for him when we fought.

'Whittaker may have learnt from his mistakes from last time for maybe a round or so, but then trust me, he will revert back to those errors. Once he feels what he felt last time, he won't know where to turn.'

Since fighting Whittaker, Adesanya has suffered his first and only MMA loss as he stepped up to light heavyweight to take on champion Jan Blachowicz

Whittaker defeated Kelvin Gastelum in his most recent outing, his third successive victory

Meanwhile, Whittaker has revealed he is relishing his status as the underdog going into the intriguing rematch.  

He told Unibet Australia: 'I'm the underdog, (It) makes sense, you know. He already beat me once. He's the current champ. He's sitting at the high horse and he beat me the first time. It definitely takes some of the pressure off, being the underdog.

'No one expects me to win. No one expects me to go over there and dethrone him after he beat me already. Throughout my whole career, I've loved being the underdog.

'I love getting in there and defying the odds. I like going in there and proving people wrong. It gives me that little bit of extra edge.' 

The 31-year-old also insists he has learned from the mistakes made in their first encounter, assuring they won't happen again. 

Whittaker added: 'As a fighter, I've changed plenty, you can see I'm trying to incorporate new angles into my game, use a more complete skillset.

'Most importantly, outside of the octagon, I'm not the same guy I was then. I have much more of a grip of who I am, why I do things, why I train, why I want to win.'

Adesanya vs Whittaker: The odds 

Despite Whittaker's impressive three-fight winning streak, it comes as no surprise that Adesanya is the favourite to claim another win over his middleweight rival.  

Adesanya, who has never lost at middleweight, is the 2/5 favourite to prevail, 17/10 by stoppage and 7/4 on points. 

Whittaker, on the other hand, is down at 15/8 to get the win, 6/1 by stoppage and 9/2 on points. An unlikely draw is at 50/1.

*Odds as per Betfair and correct at the time of publication.