Robert Whittaker has thanked those who stuck by him at his lowest on the eve of the Australian's UFC title rematch with Israel Adesanya.
Whittaker lost his middleweight championship to the Nigeria-born New Zealander in a second-round knockout in Melbourne in October 2019.
The charismatic Adesanya has since defended his title three times to own the weight class and, after signing a new multi-fight deal, is touted as UFC's second-biggest earner behind Conor McGregor.
Adesanya boasts a 21-1 mixed martial arts record and is 10-1 since joining the UFC only four years ago -- his only defeat coming against Jan Blachowicz when he stepped up to light heavyweight in an attempt to become a rare double champion.
Whittaker (24-5) has won his past three fights to earn another shot at Adesanya, which will come at Houston's Toyota Center on Sunday afternoon (AEDT).
The pair came face to face, again, a day before the fight, both weighing in at 184 pounds (83.5kg) before they headline UFC 271.
"You guys were here when I was at my lowest and you believed in me and I'm going to give you a good fight tomorrow," a smiling, relaxed, Whittaker said.
The former champion admitted his performance in his defeat to Adesanya was impacted by the intense pressure in the lead-up to the fight, but that he's "let all that go" and is a different man for their rematch.
Adesanya has done his best to stir the pot in the lead-up, wearing a necklace to a pre-fight press conference that had a display screen replaying the moment he knocked Whittaker out at UFC 243.
The usually outspoken champion was more circumspect a day out from the fight though, keeping his final comments short.
"No more words; he won't win because I will not lose," he said.
The stacked card also features Australian heavyweight favourite Tai Tuivasa against Derrick Lewis, with the winner a chance of earning a title shot.
