The UFC middleweight division was once ruled by Robert Whittaker. Whittaker held the belt before losing it to Israel Adesanya in Oct. 2019.

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Following the loss, Whittaker spent time working his way back to the top of the division, getting a rematch with Adesanya in Feb. 2022. Once again, Adesanya would defeat Whittaker, making the pair bitter foes, in terms of the middleweight division.

Though there has always been respect between Whittaker and Adesanya, it appears the former foes are now friends. Also, they appear to be training together.

Adesanya took to X to showcase some images and a short video of him and Whittaker sparring with one another.

“New year, new friends,” Adesanya wrote in the post on X.

Being opponents in the same division can often lead to bitter feelings toward one another, and it would be believed that both Whittaker and Adesanya were hated rivals. Even though the respect is always given, they were both angling to secure a belt in the middleweight division.

Both Adesanya and Whittaker also held the belt at one time, and now they are both hoping to climb their way back up to a title shot.

Whittaker most recently lost to Khamzat Chimaev, in what many perceived to be the fight to decide the No. 1 contender. Chimaev easily routed Whittaker, submitting the former champion in the first round.

Whittaker suffered a brutal mouth injury, resulting in many of his teeth being damaged due to the submission. Despite the big win Chimaev will have to wait, as middleweight champion Dricuss Du Plessis is set to rematch Sean Strickland for the belt.

Adesanya, on the other hand, lost to both Du Plessis and Strickland in his last two outings.

Whittaker and Adesanya might be training with one another to truly test their skills to potentially climb back up to title contention. It would be interesting to see if the newfound friends train with one another, only to have to face one another again soon.

The middleweight division is stacked with solid fighters, and all the mentioned fighters could contend for the belt. Should Du Plessis be defeated by Strickland, Chimaev would likely be next in line for a title shot after dispatching Whittaker.

Adesanya might also take on Chimaev next to determine who could be the No. 1 contender after Strickland. There are a lot of possibilities for this division.

What makes Adesanya and Whittaker training together so dangerous, is they have always been considered at the top of the division. If both can spar and learn from one another, they might both come back to challenge for the title sooner rather than later.

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