Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker fights Darren Till in the main event of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 14 at the Flash Forum on Fight Island, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The winner may get a shot at the winner of current divsion champion Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa at UFC 253 on September 19.
At Tuesday’s UFC on ESPN 14 media day, Whittaker talked about what his opponent brings.
His biggest threat is his left hand and he knows that as well, said Whittaker. That’s where I think I match up so much better against him than he does with me because my biggest threat is too many of them. I have so many dangerous shots, I’m so creative. I have so many angles I can exploit. He’s got his left hand. That’s all he’s got. Everything else I got covered.
He runs that down the pipe and he’s so well at using it. I’m not taking anything away from him, he’s used it on a dozen guys and he’s knocked him out so I’ve got to be aware of that, I’ve got to give it respect, but I got so many angles he has to be aware of.
Whittaker took a break from fighting due to burnout that he links in part to his Split Decision win over Yoel Romero, in a rematch at UFC 225 on June 9, 2018. It was his sole fight that year, and he didn’t fight again for 16 months, losing his belt to Israel Adesanya via KO at UFC 243, on October 6, 2019. He hasn’t fought since.
Whittaker was scheduled to fight Jared Cannonier at UFC 248 on March 7, 2020, but withdrew, with rumors circulating that he had to donate bone marrow to his daughter. He later said it was extreme burnout.
In 2014, Whittaker had lost two of three, so dropped to middleweight, and committed to a training regimen so spartan he missed funerals and trained through every holiday.
From late 2014, through 2019 his breaks from training had been due to catastrophe. In 2019 he got time off from the gym when his bowel twisted and he underwent three surgeries. In 2018, the break came when he got chickenpox. The tougher things got for Whittaker, the harder I bit down on my mouthguard.
That determination is an archetypal fight story – combat sports were Whittaker’s path out of the projects. Adding to the challenges, Whittaker suffered from depression, which could keep him in his bedroom for weeks. But the determination worked – today Bobby Knuckles lives in a massive home, with a massive home gym. He and his wife Sophia are raising three children, as well as his younger brother and sister.
Unfortunately, the path he was on was not sustainable indefinitely. On Christmas Day 2019 he was running dunes, and had an epiphany – “what the f*** am I doing?” So he drove home, called his team, and said to put everything on hold. In January he withdrew from training and the Cannonier fight.
In time, Whittaker started training ferociously for Saturday’s fight, but he no longer runs dunes on Sunday. “The Reaper” said the time off helped reignite his passion for MMA, and that his motivation is now as high as ever.
I’m just happy, he said. I’m alive again. The fire for the sport has been there. I’m enjoying all angles of it. I’m enjoying media week. I’m enjoying the weight cut. I’m enjoying my time in isolation. That’s a massive change and just feeling that way means I’m gonna go in that Octagon, happy as Larry, and I’m just gonna get to work. I’m just gonna have fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f8V7I-_D8M
h/t Farah Hannoun and John Morgan for MMA Junkie
