Four years before claiming PFL gold, Rob Wilkinson stepped into the octagon against Israel Adesanya, making his UFC debut. This bout would ultimately be Wilkinson`s final appearance in the promotion.
A significant shift occurred between that fight and his later success: the weight class. After his UFC contract ended, Wilkinson moved up to light-heavyweight, a division where he has since thrived, culminating in winning the PFL`s 2022 season championship at 205 pounds.
Now, Wilkinson is back competing for the $500,000 PFL World Tournament prize and is set to headline the promotion`s debut event in Australia. He faces UFC and Bellator veteran Phil Davis in the opening round, viewing it as tackling the toughest challenge first.
The Grueling Weight Cut Against Israel Adesanya
In a recent interview, Rob Wilkinson described the immense difficulty of making the middleweight limit (185 lbs). While his first UFC fight required a short-notice cut, he stated that the process for UFC 221 against Israel Adesanya was the most challenging of his career.
“I started fighting at middleweight when I was 19,” Wilkinson explained. “I was lifting weights back then but also trying to cut weight. The last time I fought against Izzy in the UFC, I had to lose about 30 pounds in five days, and I wasn`t using a dietitian; I didn`t have a specialist helping me.”
“I was kind of just doing it based on what I had done before,” he continued. “I really noticed in that fight that I was not able to recover, and I gassed out very early. I had no energy, and after that one, I made the decision I wasn`t going to make middleweight again; I was going to move up.”
After being released by the UFC, Wilkinson took time off and decided it was an opportunity to gain muscle to avoid being undersized at light-heavyweight, noting that 20 pounds is a significant jump. He began having kickboxing fights around 210 pounds and felt considerably better, confirming light-heavyweight as his new permanent division.
Adesanya Noticed Wilkinson`s Struggle at Weigh-ins
Recalling the UFC 221 weigh-ins in 2018, Wilkinson remembered the public ceremony where fighters stepped onto the scales. He visibly struggled, finding it difficult to climb just eight steps and initially missed the middleweight limit before using the towel for his second attempt.
“The cuts were getting pretty bad when I think about them compared to what I do now,” Wilkinson stated. “They were just a lot more… I hate to think about what I used to do to make weight. It was rough, a terrible time, and I never even thought about the fight until I made the weight. I was so stressed about it.”
He drew a comparison to Yoel Romero, who fought on the same card: “I remember that event [UFC 221]. Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold fought in the main event, and Yoel Romero had less weight to lose than me and didn`t make weight. Probably smarter, to be honest; he would have thought, `I`m not going to make weight, but I`ll win the fight at least.`”
“I had to get completely naked; I could barely walk onto the scales,” Wilkinson recounted. “Up until the scales, I pretty much had my hand on my coach the whole time just so I could stand up… I just remember facing off Izzy because straight away the face-off was right there.”
“Izzy was mouthing off at me a little bit; he could see how messed up I was, saying that I`m messed up, I`ve got no time to get ready,” Wilkinson added. “We had less than 24 hours to rehydrate for that fight as well, so I had a shorter time, and he could see that. I was just thinking, `Shut up, I need to go and drink some water!`”
