Robert Whittaker is ready for a change of scenery. The former middleweight champion is planning to cross the bridge to light heavyweight.
Whittaker, 35, has long contemplated a move to 205 pounds. The 20-pound leap is significant, but Whittaker prefers risk to regret.
“I’m going to give it a go,” Whittaker told Submission Radio. “I know a lot of naysayers, a lot of things on the Internet saying ‘small this, small that.’ Shut up, dude. I want to give it a go. I’m on the tail end of my career, so I got to try rather than just thinking about what ifs.”
Light heavyweight gives him another chance at reinvention. Whittaker originally cut his teeth at welterweight, where he won the Australia vs. England spin-off of “The Ultimate Fighter” titled “The Smashes.” He had mixed success in the UFC before moving up to middleweight. Whittaker started his middleweight campaign at 8-0, capturing and defending the middleweight title in the process. Lately, he’s unsure if middleweight is bringing the best out of him.
“I’ve been playing with the idea for a long time,” Whittaker mentioned. “During the break, I was training at a heavier weight. I want to lock in and move into this weight division. There’s no doubt in my mind I could make middleweight. I can make it still, I can lose the weight, but I just don’t know if I’m getting the best out of myself, having to cut that weight. The camp performance kind of really suffers on the back end of a weight car,d and a lot of fighters can testify that.”
Whittaker is eyeing a June return in his new weight class. He needs time to acclimate to light heavyweight, especially coming off consecutive losses for the first time in more than a decade.
“I want to give myself the appropriate amount of time to really get all the gears going again,” Whittaker mentioned. “Especially if I’m moving up to 205, I want to adjust to the weight. I want to perform at the weight. I want to build some muscle, etc. I want to give myself like a decent leg of work, like a good four months to prep and come in there at my best.”
Whittaker is one of the best middleweights of all time. He beat many of his contemporaries in prime, including Yoel Romero, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Kelvin Gastelum. “The Reaper” is coming off a submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev and split decision loss to Reinier de Ridder.
More UFC news
UFC 327 is taking shape. On Saturday, the promotion penciled UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van against Tatsuro Taira. Four additional fights were revealed on Tuesday.
- Domnick Reyes vs. Johnny Walker, light heavyweights
- Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa, light heavyweights
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Josh Hokit, heavyweights
- Kevin Holland vs. Randy Brown, welterweights
UFC has not yet verified a main event for UFC 327. The event takes place on April 11 at Miami’s Kaseya Center.
