Robert Whittaker News

Cole Shelton - October 1, 2019

Robert Whittaker’s longtime jiu-jitsu coach Alex Prates recently said his pupil is a better version of Georges St-Pierre. “Maybe you’ll see Robert Whittaker using a style that I think is the one that suits him better but he never really needed it because it was always comfortable for him on the feet for most of his fights,” Prates told MMA Fighting, discussing Whittaker’s looming showdown with Israel Adesanya. “With Yoel Romero, for example, it would have been stupid to try to take him down. But Robert has great wrestling and great timing. I honestly think Robert is a better version of GSP. And we might see this now.”

Cole Shelton - September 30, 2019

Robert Whittaker sees a clear path to victory against Israel Adesanya and it is not by using his wrestling as some would expect. At UFC 243, the UFC middleweight champion will return to the Octagon for the first time since June of 2018. He will make his return against the interim champ in Adesanya. It is a highly anticipated fight between an Australian and a Kiwi in Adesanya, and it’s being billed as the biggest fight in Oceanic history.

Natasha Hooper - September 26, 2019

Israel Adesanya has already established himself as one of the best middleweights in the world. With a record of 17-0, he is confident that his winning strategy will allow him to “pick apart” Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. It’s been a big year for Adesanya. “The Last Stylebender” got tongues wagging in a riveting three-round performance against former UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva in February at UFC 234. His creative arsenal of striking attacks was enough to earn a unanimous decision victory. Most recently, Adesanya took on Kelvin Gastelum in a fight that exceeded expectation. Despite being a close match, the tides turned in Adesanya’s favour and he took home a decision win after five fun rounds.

Tom Taylor - September 23, 2019

UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker has won his last few fights with his striking, but striking certainly isn’t his only skill. In fact, Whittaker is so well-rounded that his coach Alex Prates considers him a “better version of” Georges St-Pierre. “Maybe you’ll see Robert Whittaker using a style that I think is the one that suits him better but he never really needed it because it was always comfortable for him on the feet for most of his fights,” Prates told Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. “With Yoel Romero, for example, it would have been stupid to try to take him down. But Robert has great wrestling and great timing. I honestly think Robert is a better version of GSP. And we might see this now.”

Tom Taylor - August 29, 2019

Robert Whittaker was expected to defend his UFC middleweight title against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 234 in in Melbourne, Australia back in February. Regrettably, the Australian was forced out of this fight at the last minute with a hernia and a collapsed bowel that required immediate, emergency surgery. Whittaker says this unfortunate twist of fate left him in a pit of depression and despair. He opened up on this struggle on a recent episode of Submission Radio.

Fernando Quiles - August 23, 2019

Robert Whittaker is of the belief that Yoel Romero was flustered when he couldn’t put Paulo Costa away. On the main card of UFC 241, Romero and Costa engaged in a middleweight tilt. The bout went the distance and delivered hard-hitting action with both men delivering a barrage of power shots. In the end, it was Costa who walked out of the Honda Center with the unanimous decision win.

Fernando Quiles - August 22, 2019

Robert Whittaker has a prediction for his bout with Israel Adesanya and it doesn’t involve the judges. Whittaker and Adesanya are set to collide on Oct. 5. “The Reaper” is the UFC middleweight title holder, while “The Last Stylebender” holds interim gold. They’ll do battle in a title unification bout. Their scrap will take place inside Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

Adam Martin - August 15, 2019

UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and interim champ Israel Adesanya squared off Wednesday at the UFC 243 pre-fight press conference. As you can expect, it was a tense staredown between the world’s top two middleweights. Check out the video below.

Tom Taylor - July 30, 2019

The next UFC middleweight title fight on the calendar will go down at UFC 243 on October 6, when undisputed champion Robert Whittaker will attempt to defend his title against interim champion Israel Adesanya. Kelvin Gastelum, one of the top contenders in the division, will be watching this fight very closely. Speaking to South China Morning Post recently, Gastelum weighed in on this middleweight title fight. He has fought Adesanya previously, losing a decision to “Stylebender” in April, and has also been scheduled to fight Whittaker, though the bout unfortunately never happened. Needless to say, he’s got some unique insight into the matchup.

Cole Shelton - July 29, 2019

During Israel Adesanya’s and Jon Jones’ intense trash talk, “Bones” said he would help train Robert Whittaker for his fight against “The Last Stylebender”. Yet, with the fight in October at UFC 243, Whittaker and Jones have yet to train together. According to the middleweight champion, there is a simple reason why.

Tom Taylor - July 18, 2019

These days, it seems like the majority of UFC fighters are trash talkers. Whether it’s to build interest in a fight or get under their opponent’s skin, many fighters seem to have embraced this verbal side of the game. UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, however, has not. Speaking on a recent episode of Submission Radio, Whittaker gave his take on all the trash talk in MMA. In his eyes, the time and energy fighters spend trash talking would be well spent elsewhere — like in the gym.

Tom Taylor - July 10, 2019

Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker don’t even know where their UFC 243 middleweight title fight will occur yet, but Adesanya is already letting the trash talk fly. Speaking at the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony over the weekend, the interim champion Adesanya shared his thoughts on his first staredown with the undisputed champ Whittaker.

Fernando Quiles - July 8, 2019

Michael Bisping thinks Israel Adesanya is due for his comeuppance. UFC 243 will play host to a middleweight title unification bout. Champion Robert Whittaker will collide with interim title holder Adesanya on Oct. 5. A location for UFC 243 has not been announced.

Fernando Quiles - July 6, 2019

Israel Adesanya has offered a response to Jon Jones’ offer to help train with Robert Whittaker and he didn’t have many kind things to say. Adesanya is the interim UFC middleweight champion and he’ll collide with main champion Whittaker in a title unification bout. The UFC announced that the fight will take place at UFC 243 on Oct. 5. A location has not been announced. Adesanya and Whittaker appeared at the UFC summer press conference 2019 and “The Last Stylebender” said he wasn’t amused by “The Reaper” posting memes on social media.

Christopher Taylor - June 26, 2019

UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones will return to the octagon against dangerous knockout artist Thiago Santos at next month’s UFC 239 event. While ‘Bones’ is clearly focused on his upcoming fight with the Brazilian, it hasn’t stopped questions surrounding future fights with bitter rival Daniel Cormier and rising star Israel Adesanya from being asked. Jones, who has taken shots at both ‘DC‘ and ‘Stylebender’ in recent weeks, took the opportunity to add salt to the wound during a recent interview.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2019

Robert Whittaker captured the UFC interim middleweight title with a July, 2017 defeat of Yoel Romero. He was then promoted to undisputed champion when Georges St-Pierre vacated the undisputed title in late 2017. Current interim champ Israel Adesanya, who fights Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in October, believes Whittaker’s unconventional road to middleweight gold casts doubt on his status as a legitimate champion.

Cole Shelton - June 10, 2019

At UFC 234, Robert Whittaker was set to defend his middleweight title against Kelvin Gastelum. It would have been the first time that the Aussie would have defended his belt. However, on the day of the fight, the champ had to pull out of the contest due to health reasons. Fast forward to UFC 236, and in the co-main event, Gastelum was fighting for the interim title against Israel Adesanya. Ultimately, Adesanya beat Gastelum by unanimous decision in what is a front runner for the fight of the year.

Natasha Hooper - May 10, 2019

Israel Adesanya has taken aim at the current middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, mocking his heritage. The Twitter image and caption posted by Adesanya mocks Whittaker ahead of their unification title bout intended for 2019. It can be assumed the post was made to promote the fight, cause a stir and put seeds of doubt in the mind of Robert Whittaker.