Robert Whittaker News

Tom Taylor - September 4, 2018

UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker’s last two fights — both of which pitted him against Yoel Romero — have been absolute wars. In these fights, both he and Romero sustained incredible amounts of punishment, yet they both somehow managed to survive to the final bell each time. In the opinion of Kelvin Gastelum, who served as a coach opposite Robert Whittaker on the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter, and will battle the champion sometime in the new year, Whittaker might not be the same after these wars with Romero. Gastelum opined on this topic at a July media scrum.

Tom Taylor - August 29, 2018

The newest season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will be coached by UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and top contender Kelvin Gastelum will debut tonight. Once the show has been wrapped up, Whittaker is expected to defend his title against Gastelum — though the setting of this fight has not yet been determined. Speaking to reporters in LA this week, Whittaker updated on the hand injuries that he’s been dealing with, and gave a rough timetable for his anticipated return to action.

Drake Riggs - August 27, 2018

Missing weight is never a good thing in the combat sports world. Which makes missing weight and then earning a title shot afterward a bit questionable. UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker happens to agree.

Drake Riggs - July 16, 2018

The UFC’s middleweight king Robert Whittaker can’t catch a break when it comes to injuries. Now he expects he won’t fight until next year at the earliest. Despite breaking his hand once again in his second encounter with Yoel Romero at UFC 225, Whittaker was has been announced as one of the coaches for season 28 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

There is a special place in the heart of every MMA fan for a good, old-fashioned scrap… Those frenetic fights like Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua I, Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald II, and Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi, that hammer their way into our memories and never leave. At the end of each month, BJPENN.COM honors the best scraps of the month, from the UFC’s Octagon, to the Rizin ring, to the cages of regional promotions all over the world.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2018

Over the last few weeks, middleweight contenders Kelvin Gastelum and Chris Weidman have been verbally sparring over who deserves the next middleweight title shot. Now, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker’s team seems to have decided for them. According to Whittaker’s manager Titus Day, Whittaker is hoping to defend his title against the former champion Weidman at UFC 231 in November, which is expected to occur inside Madison Square Garden in Weidman’s native New York.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2018

UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker felt that Yoel Romero changed quite significantly between their first and second fights. According to Whittaker, Romero felt more or less normal when they first fought, and more like “metal” or “concrete” when they met for a second time at UFC 225 earlier this month. “When I was punching and kicking him [at UFC 225] he felt like metal — like a dude made out of concrete, it was a ridiculous,” Whittaker said on Grange TV.  “I fought him a year ago, and he didn’t feel like concrete. Not like that.”

Tom Taylor - June 22, 2018

Yoel Romero pushed himself into a state of extreme dehydration in an effort to make weight for his UFC 225 showdown with middleweight champ Robert Whittaker — but unfortunately, he still missed weight anyway. Amazingly, Romero showed no ill-effects of his brutal weight cut in the fight itself. In fact, he looked incredible, ultimately giving up a debatable, split decision to the champ.

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2018

Yoel Romero has now been compared to steel by two former opponents. The first man to compare Romero to steel was former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. Now, reigning UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has borrowed this metaphor, using it to describe the incredibly uncomfortable experience of fighting the Cuban behemoth. “This time, he felt like steel,” Whittaker told The Daily Telegraph of his second and most recent fight with Romero, which headlined the stacked UFC 225 last Saturday night. “I was punching and kicking him but it wasn’t doing any damage. He was walking forward through everything. It was weird.”

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2018

UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker now holds two wins over fearsome middleweight contender Yoel Romero. Both, however, were competitive and truly thrilling fights. Given the close nature of the pair’s two fights — particularly the latter, which headlined UFC 225 last weekend — there’s been widespread chatter about a potential third fight between the two. Whittaker, however, isn’t so sure a third fight is necessary. The Australian champion addressed a potential trilogy fight with Romero on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

Tom Taylor - June 11, 2018

On Saturday night, in the main event of the stacked UFC 225, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and fearsome middleweight contender Yoel Romero engaged in a truly incredible five-round fight. Though the title was not actually on the line, as Romero missed weight for the bout, the two middleweight talents fought with the kind of verve and intensity that ensured their battle will never be forgotten. In the end, Whittaker won this jaw-dropping fight via split decision. While not everybody agreed with the judges’ scoring of the fight, Whittaker is confident he deserved the W. The champ commented on the fight in a classy, post-fight statement on Instagram.

Tom Taylor - June 10, 2018

Last night, in the main event of the stacked UFC 225, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and top middleweight contender Yoel Romero met for a second time — though Romero was not eligible to win the title due to a slight weigh-in miss. The pair’s main event showdown would go down as one of the very best fights of the year, complete with several near-stoppages, and some truly incredible momentum shifts. In the end, Whittaker would win this bout with a somewhat controversial split decision, moving to 2-0 over the fearsome Cuban in the process. That being said, there are really no losers in a war of this kind, which truly riveted the MMA community from beginning to end.

Drake Riggs - June 8, 2018

In today’s MMA world, the excitement or…disappointment often starts with the weigh-ins. And today was no different. Initially, one half of the main event’s title fight rematch, Yoel Romero weighed in at 186 pounds which is one pound over the 185 pound middleweight limit for championship fights.

Tom Taylor - June 8, 2018

In the opinion of former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre, current UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker is the perfect ambassador for the sport of MMA. The Canadian MMA legend gave his take on the Australian champion in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. “He’s a great example and a perfect role model for the sport of mixed martial arts – and you cannot have a better ambassador for the sport,” St-Pierre said. “You guys have the dream guy coming from Australia to represent you.”

Tom Taylor - June 6, 2018

This weekend, in the main event of the absurdly stacked UFC 225 card, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will attempt to defend his title against the fearsome Yoel Romero. This bout will mark the pair’s second meeting, as Whittaker defeated Romero with a competitive, unanimous decision win a little less than a year ago. Despite the fact that Whittaker already holds a win over Romero, he is not guaranteeing himself a win this second time around. Instead, he feels the rematch is a veritable coin-flip.

Tom Taylor - June 4, 2018

When former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping announced his retirement late last month, he closed the door on a number of exciting potential matchups. There’s the fight between Bisping and his rival Yoel Romero, which we never got to see. There’s the much discussed trilogy fight between Bisping and Luke Rockhold, who are tied 1-1 across to fights. There are other fights between Bisping and stars like Lyoto Machida, Chris Weidman and Jacare Souza. And then, of course, there’s the potential fight between Bisping and the reigning UFC middleweight king, Robert Whittaker. Bisping and Whittaker looked destined to collide at several points throughout their respective careers. They were, of course, briefly scheduled to fight at UFC 193, until Bisping was forced out of the matchup an injury. Then, there was the short period during which Bisping was the undisputed middleweight champion and Whittaker was interim champion, when they also seemed to be on a collision course.

Justin Golightly - March 19, 2018

While it hasn’t been long since Robert Whittaker first defeated Yoel Romero at UFC 213, it seems like forever ago. A lot has went down, but the more things change, the more they stay the same. Whittaker still holds the UFC middleweight title and has been waiting to see the rightful challenger rise to meet him after his injury. It just happens to be Romero, who is expected to be just as if not more dangerous at UFC 225 than their last encounter. “[Yoel] Romero is a hard fight. It was a war the first time. It’s definitely up there as one of my hardest fights to date, one of the hardest fights mentally due to getting injured in the first round and having to get through it all. He’s such a tough competitor, he’s such a good athlete and such a good fighter.”

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

On March 10, BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor reported that UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and top contender Yoel Romero will rematch at UFC 225 on June 9 in Chicago, Illinois. Breaking! Per sources Yoel Romero vs Robert Whittaker 2 is a done deal for #UFC225. The title fight rematch is expected to serve as the main event in Chicago!