Robert Whittaker News

Justin Golightly - September 16, 2017

The UFC’s middleweight division has been in a weird, chaotic state ever since Luke Rockhold was knocked out by the hands of Michael Bisping. Some fighters like Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza went on strike, Yoel Romero vowed to not go back his home in Cuba until he got a title shot, and Gegard Mousasi left the UFC altogether. Luke Rockhold has expressed his frustrations in the past about how things were going, which is why he wants to keep the wheels of the division going. No matter who wins at UFC 217 between Bisping and Georges St-Pierre, the champ is supposed to fight Robert Whittaker. If that doesn’t happen, then Rockhold will. “Robert Whittaker has proved himself top dog and I believe he and I are the two best guys in the middleweight division. So, [the winner of Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre] should definitely fight him. But if not, I will. I’ll fight any man at the top and Whittaker is seemingly that guy. I was impressed. First time up in the division, it was a strong, composed showing. I’ve been watching him come along since and he’s growing nicely. Whittaker’s a really tough kid.”

Justin Golightly - August 12, 2017

The way that the UFC’s middleweight division has been booked has caused a lot of fighters to get pissed off. Michael Bisping and his forever-upcoming fight with Georges St-Pierre created a log jam that had domino effects far beyond what people could have imagined. At one point, fighters like Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero were on strike. Jacare Souza used the situation to leverage a better contract, while Gegard Mousasi left for Bellator. The new interim middleweight  champion Robert Whittaker doesn’t seem to care though. “It’s worked in my favor with that fight being scheduled. I have to fight Michael — there’s no one I also can fight — so with that, the earliest I can realistically fight is early next year anyway. They [the UFC] knew I couldn’t fight until early next year and Michael wanted that fight with Georges really badly. So, to me it’s perfect and there’s no guarantees what’s going to happen. I’m happy to fight Georges as much as I am to fight Bisping.” — Robert Whittaker speaking to FOX Sports Australia.

Scott Hernandez - July 21, 2017

Earlier this month in the main event of UFC 213, Robert Whittaker realized a dream as he defeated Yoel Romero via unanimous decision to claim the interim UFC middleweight title, and secure himself a fight with middleweight champion Michael Bisping. For Robert Whittaker, the fight was not without its share of difficulties. Early on in the fight, Whittaker appeared to hyperextend his knee, and as commentator Joe Rogan pointed out, was noticeably unsteady on the leg. Despite that, Whittaker put on an impressive display as he stuffed the Olympian’s takedowns, and continued to out-strike Romero.

Russell Ess - July 12, 2017

UFC 213 crowned a new UFC interim middleweight champion as Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker battled in a five-round interim title fight. It was a classic matchup with the two competing in a grueling fight that went the distance where judges ruled Whittaker the new interim champion of the middleweight division. With a middleweight title unification bout against undisputed champion Michael Bisping on the horizon, we may not see the fight take place until next year as Whittaker’s injured knee needs to be cleared by an orthopedic doctor or else face a medical suspension till January 2018.

Tom Taylor - July 9, 2017

Last night, in the main event of UFC 213, Australia’s Robert Whittaker collided with Cuba’s Yoel Romero in an interim middleweight title fight. While Romero started strong, Whittaker stole the momentum in round three, and battered his foe to an impressive, unanimous decision win. With this result, Whittaker becomes the UFC interim middleweight champion. He is expected to take on undisputed champion Michael Bisping – who joined him in the cage post-fight – sometime in the near future.

Chris Taylor - July 8, 2017

UFC 213 Results: Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker squared off for the UFC’s interim middleweight title in the main event of tonight’s UFC 213 pay-per-view card in Las Vegas.

Russell Ess - July 6, 2017

Yoel Romero is set to fight for the UFC interim middleweight title at UFC 213 this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Romero, who is ranked #1 in the UFC middleweight rankings will be taking on #3 ranked Robert Whittaker.

Tom Taylor - July 5, 2017

When it was announced that UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping would next defend his title against Georges St-Pierre – a former welterweight champ who had never fought at middleweight before – there was widespread backlash. Much of this backlash came from the middleweight division’s top contenders, such as Yoel Romero, Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and Robert Whittaker. While this Bisping vs. St-Pierre fight has since been nixed, Whittaker recently reiterated that St-Pierre really had no business fighting for the middleweight title. He explained this feeling in a recent interview with Fox Sports Australia.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2017

With UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping on the shelf nursing a knee injury, the UFC’s matchmaking team has opted to crown an interim middleweight champion to keep the division moving in the champ’s stead. This interim middleweight title fight will occur at UFC 213 this July 8, when streaking Cuban contender Yoel Romero collides with surging Australian star Robert Whittaker. Given the tremendous skill of both fighters, many people are having trouble confidently picking a winner for their fight. Bisping, however, doesn’t seem to have any trouble in this regard.

Tom Taylor - May 24, 2017

Last night, news broke that UFC 213’s originally planned headliner – a bantamweight title fight between champ Cody Garbrandt and challenger TJ Dillashaw  – had officially fallen through. With this news, it was announced that Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko’s women’s bantamweight title fight had been promoted to the main event spot, and that the new co-main event would see Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker collide in an interim middleweight title fight. Shortly after this news broke, Whittaker and Romero took to their respective social media channels to make short but sweet statements on the fight. See the two fighters reactions to the news below:

Scott Hernandez - May 23, 2017

Two huge announcements were just made regarding July’s UFC 213 event in Las Vegas. The promotion announced that an interim middleweight title fight between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker will co-headline the July 8 event.

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2017

From the sounds of it, Michael Bisping’s much discussed middleweight title defense against former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will not happen. If it does happen, it won’t be until the fall, as St-Pierre will not be available until then. Though this might give the impression that Bisping will defend his title against Yoel Romero or Robert Whittaker sometime this summer, Bisping has instead announced that he’s dealing with some nagging injuries, and that he probably won’t be available for a fight for some time. To combat this complicated situation at middleweight, the UFC is reportedly considering a Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker interim middleweight title fight to keep the division moving. This fight, of course, would be of particular interest to the undisputed champion Bisping.

Tom Taylor - April 19, 2017

Riding high on an eight-fight win-streak, which includes triumphs over names like Derek Brunson, Brad Tavares, Tim Kennedy, Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Chris Weidman, Cuba’s Yoel Romero has done pretty much all he can possibly do to earn a shot a UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. The same can be said of 26-year-old Kiwi Robert Whittaker, who recently extended his middleweight record to a perfect 6-0 with a dominating TKO win over Jacare.

Tom Taylor - April 16, 2017

Last night, on the main card of UFC on Fox 24, Australia-based Kiwi Robert Whittaker stepped onto the canvas with former Strikeforce middleweight king Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. The bout marked the biggest test of the 26 year old Whittaker’s career. Despite the scale of this test, Whittaker passed it with flying colors. First, he reversed an early Jacare takedown, and escaped back to his feet – something very few middleweights have been able to do against the dangerous BJJ whiz. From there, Whittaker began to pick his foe apart on the feet, dropping him once with a punch, and ultimately polishing him off with a head-kick and a storm of followup ground strikes.

Chris Taylor - April 15, 2017

Robert Whittaker put the UFC middleweight division on notice tonight in Kansas City scoring a second-round TKO victory over perennial division contender Ronadlo “Jacare” Souza. The win marked Whittaker’s seventh victory in a row and boosted the 26-year-old into immediate title contention.

Chris Taylor - April 15, 2017

UFC on FOX 24 Results: Ronaldo Souza vs. Robert Whittaker A key middleweight scrap between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Robert Whittaker took place on tonight’s UFC on FOX 24 main card in Kansas City.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2017

Earlier this month, we learned that elite middleweight contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will be returning to the Octagon at UFC on Fox 24 on April 15. The Brazilian grappling specialist will do so against rising Australian contender Robert Whittaker, who recently rocketed into the upper echelon of the division with a dazzling knockout defeat of the dangerous Derek Brunson. While this matchup is an undeniably exciting one, its announcement did catch some fans by surprise. Jacare, after all, is one of the very top contenders in the middleweight division. Though the next middleweight title shot will go to returning former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, Jacare could have easily opted to wait for his shot or, to rematch fellow contender Yoel Romero in an effort to lock down the number-one-contender spot. Instead, the Brazilian has chosen to keep a busy schedule, risking his hard-earned contender status against a ferocious young talent in Whittaker.

Chris Taylor - March 4, 2017

The UFC announced a pair of huge fights for April’s UFC on FOX 24 fight card in Kansas City during tonight’s UFC 209 broadcast. UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson will defend his title against Wilson Reis in the evening’s main event.