Robert Whittaker shuts down welterweight comeback, light-heavyweight on the table: “Going up is an option”
Robert Whittaker has shut down a potential move back down to welterweight. He has, however, noted that a move upwards is on the table.
‘The Reaper’ was last in action at UFC 271 against Israel Adesanya. While he put forth an admirable performance, he lost the bout via unanimous decision in a bid for the middleweight title. With the defeat, he moved to 0-2 in the series with ‘The Last Stylebender’.
Following the loss, many such as Brendan Schaub advised the former UFC middleweight champion to move down to 170-pounds. Whittaker used to fight at welterweight for the first half of his MMA career, before moving up in 2014. Many fans also speculated that he might move down following a tweet where ‘The Reaper’ says he is getting skinny.
However, Robert Whittaker has shut down a potential move back down to 170-pounds. He discussed the situation The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, and instead noted that a move upwards is on the table.
Image Credit: UFC
“I consider camp Rob, as Skinny Rob. You know? That’s why in a lot of my posts previously I’ve said things like, ‘OK, Skinny Rob’s on the shelf now for a while,’ etc, etc. But everyone was just like, ‘He’s going back to 170! Looking at how skinny he is already!’ People don’t realize how heavy I walk around. So, I’ll walk around 215 [pounds], 220 in life. That’s just my living weight.” – said Robert Whittaker on The MMA Hour (h/t MMAFighting)
Whittaker instead clarified that a move upwards is on the table.
“I’ve considered it, because going up is definitely the option, not going down. I’ve considered it. But the only thing is, I feel like I’m so good at middleweight. I’ve got the cut well down. My strength versus cardio versus speed is just on point. I feel like I’d lose some of that if I move up to 205, so it might be, I don’t know, I think I’m going to try and just work my way up to a title shot here one more time and then play with the idea afterward.”
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