Adesanya fought to a unanimous decision win over Whittaker (48-47 x2, 49-46), warding off a much better showing from the Kiwi-born Australian than their last encounter.
Things started out perfectly for Adesanya as he controlled the octagon and dictated the dance on the feet. Whittaker had little for him in the first round and, when Adesanya dropped Whittaker late in the first round, the challenger sat deflated on his stool after the bell.
A pep talk from his corner seemed to do a world of good for Whittaker, who was much more aggressive in the second round both in his striking and pursuing the takedowns, with his advantages in the fight being in the wrestling department.
But even still, takedowns are only effective if you can keep your opponent on the mat - and Adesanya is not the easiest man to keep down in the middleweight division.
Despite Whittaker having success getting Adesanya to the canvas, Adesanya's defensive grappling came up trumps every single time, allowing the Kiwi champion to get to his feet quickly and eventually re-establish range and go back to work on the feet.
It was a kick-heavy approach from Adesanya, mixing in damaging kicks to Whittaker's lead leg with shots to the body and head to keep the challenger guessing.
Whenever Whittaker rushed in to either try to plant a shot or secure a takedown, Adesanya was ready and waiting with shots of his own and always ended his combinations with a powerful shot. While most times that last shot missed, it gave Whittaker more to think about throughout the bout.
For the most part, Adesanya was allowed to dictate the pace of the fight and picked his moments to attack well. While the rounds were close, Adesanya was the one landing the more shots in exchanges and that, coupled with his control of the cage, saw him edge most of the rounds.
Whittaker's best moments came in the final five minutes when he had some success with his grappling and landed a strong left hand that drew an acknowledgement from Adesanya, but ultimately Adesanya proved too good once more.
"I knew he was going to bring it, but like I said, I'm the champ - if you want it come get it," Adesanya said in his post-fight interview.
Adesanya is now unbeaten in 11 bouts in the UFC middleweight division and only appears to be getting better with every fight.
Earlier on the card, light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg secured his first UFC win with a three-round shut-out against Fabio Cherant.
After suffering a second-round knockout in his UFC debut, Ulberg showed much more patience in his sophomore performance, using his reach advantage well to pick his shots and stay out of danger – for the most part.
He did wear a couple of heavy shots from Cherant in the first round, one that put him on the canvas right at the bell, but was largely allowed to have his way with the fight.
Ulberg out-struck Cherant 71-13 over the three rounds, and shocked many with a glimpse at his wrestling, landing the two takedowns he attempted.
"Throughout this whole camp, patience was a big factor for me, and that's something that I need to build with my career moving forward. As we move forward, going into other fights I've got the confidence to go three rounds," Ulberg said.
"To build on this one, I'm happy that I went three rounds. For the next one, let's hope I get someone who is happy to fight."
Adesanya and Ulberg's City Kickboxing teammate Blood Diamond was also in action on the card, getting a stark welcome to the UFC's welterweight division, being submitted via rear naked choke late in the first round by Jeremiah Wells.
