Robert
Whittaker is almost certain about moving up to light
heavyweight for his next fight.
Whittaker (26-9) has long been a perennial
UFC middleweight contender, even when he hasn’t held the title.
However, “The Reaper” revealed that his last two weight cuts to
make 185 pounds left him weak by the end of the camp. Whittaker is
now considering a move up to light heavyweight, where he believes
he can outclass some opponents with his style. While Whittaker
admits that he can still be convinced against moving up, he is 90%
sure that he will fight at light heavyweight next.
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‘The Division is Open’
“The last couple of cuts have been hard … I feel like the division
is open,” Whittaker said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I feel like there
are a lot of guys that my skill set can prevail on. I’m at a point
where I could be convinced out of [moving up] but… I feel so weak
by the end of the 185 pound camp. It takes a lot of fun out of it…
I’m 90% there [towards moving up.]”
Whittaker won the interim middleweight title against Yoel Romero
in 2017 and was promoted to undisputed champion after Georges
St-Pierre vacated the title. While Whittaker essentially defended
his title in a violent rematch against Romero, the bout was
declared a non-title catchweight matchup after the challenger
missed weight.
Whittaker lost the title to Israel
Adesanya in 2019. While “Bobby Knuckles” walked through other
contenders, he failed to reclaim the title in a rematch against
Adesanya in 2022. Whittaker is 2-2 in his last four and coming off
consecutive losses against Khamzat
Chimaev and Reinier
de Ridder.
Meanwhile, middleweight champion Chimaev is calling for a light
heavyweight title shot against Alex
Pereira, who in turn is eyeing a move to heavyweight.