Former UFC champion Robert Whittaker shares timeline for eventual MMA retirement: “Have a solid crack at something else”

UFC icon Robert Whittaker has shared his timeline for an eventual retirement from mixed martial arts.

Over the course of the last 5-10 years, Robert Whittaker has cemented his legacy as a true fan favorite. The former UFC middleweight champion has done some incredible things in the sport of MMA and at the age of 33, he’s still going strong.

RELATED: Robert Whittaker reveals he contacted the UFC to re-book Khamzat Chimaev fight: “Just make sure he turns up”

His next task will see him go up against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308. In the eyes of many, this is a tricky fight. For Bobby Knuckles, however, it’s just another day at the office.

During a recent interview, Whittaker spoke candidly about his plans to retire from the sport.

Whittaker contemplates retirement

“I’m thinking about wrapping it up around 36. That’s what? Two and a half years,” Whittaker told Demetrious Johnson. “I feel like 36 is a good age to like really have a solid crack at something else, whatever it is I want to do, you know?

“I do the normal things,” he continued. “I save more than I spend. I look to buy land and investment properties whenever I can afford it. I’m looking to push my dreams ahead. I’m not really moving into anything I need to dedicate too much focus towards because I do believe that everything you do that isn’t fighting takes away a little bit of that mental mind space you have, and you don’t have a lot of it.”

“I want to fight by the end of the year,” Whittaker said of why he accepted the Chimaev rebooking. “If they give me a title fight next, I would be happy. If the fight with Dricus and [Israel] Adesanya were to happen then they say, ‘Hey, wait until next year and you can fight for the title.’ I’d wait. What’s an extra couple months, right? It’s a title fight. I’m gonna fight one way or another and winning pushes me towards my goals anyway.”

Quotes via MMA Mania

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