Former undisputed middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker claims he would be the plain subsequent challenger to the divisional crown with a victory towards the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 subsequent month — regardless of one other former gold holder already lined up for his personal rematch with the incumbent, Dricus du Plessis.
Whittaker, who at present holds the quantity three rank within the official 185lbs pile, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC Struggle Evening Saudi Arabia earlier this summer season, taking over Russian starlet, Ikram Aliskerov in a high-stakes pairing.
And handing over a dominant first spherical knockout win over the Contender Sequence alum, Whittaker took out Aliskerov rather than an illness-stricken, Chimaev — who was sidelined from one more return to motion.
Nonetheless, slated to co-headline UFC 308 on the finish of subsequent month in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Whittaker is sanctioned to tackle the Chechen-born challenger over the course of five rounds in a rescheduled pairing in the desert.
Robert Whittaker stakes declare for title combat after UFC 308 return
And whereas former champion, Sean Strickland has been pegged as the following challenger to du Plessis’ throne, Whittaker claims he shall be plain as the following championship chaser if he ends Chimaev’s gorgeous thirteen-fight unbeaten streak.
“No, I beat (Khamzat) Chimaev, I’m preventing for the belt subsequent,” Robert Whittaker instructed Submission Radio. “LIke, that’s it. There’s little question in my thoughts about that. I simply obtained to guarantee that I put all of the chips and I cross all of the t’s, dot all of the i’s, and get to Abu Dhabi high of my recreation.”
I don’t suppose they ignored my wrestling abilities as they pump up Chimaev’s,” Robert Whittaker defined. “However he’s actually good at what he does. I’m not going right into a boxing combat. We’re not going right into a wrestling combat. It’s MMA and there are such a lot of roads to victory. And I perceive that holistically I’m actually good. Like, it’s tougher to take me down after I’m throwing punches and kicks at your face.”
