What should be next for Robert Whittaker?

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker (25-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) is making his case for being the very best primary contender of all time. Earlier this month at UFC Paris, he defended his spot for the fourth time in two years.

Whittaker was flawless in a unanimous choice victory over the #3 ranked Marvin Vettori. After an in depth first spherical, he used his entrance kick to the physique to maintain the gap, which led to quite a few head kicks and peppering proper palms. One among his head kicks momentarily wobbled the iron chinned Vettori.

The fan-favorite as soon as once more proved true the lyrics of his iconic walkout track “Can’t Be Touched” by Roy Jones Jr, as he dodged most of Vettori’s assaults by means of his “transfer in and transfer out” type. The Paris crowd roared his identify, and he obtained worldwide reward for an additional grasp class efficiency. Even Dillon Danis complimented the Aussie in a now-deleted tweet.

Inside his victory, Whittaker improved his UFC takedown protection to 84 p.c and his vital strikes landed per minute to 4.48. He’s now 6-0 towards the division’s prime 15, along with his solely losses within the final eight years coming to champion Israel Adesanya. This has led him to change into a top-three middleweight in UFC historical past, solely behind Adesanya and Anderson Silva.

“The Reaper” has proved there’s a big hole between the champion, himself, and the remainder of the division. Listed below are three choices of who he may battle subsequent:

6 Paulo Costa

The 2 had been presupposed to battle final April; nevertheless, Costa pulled out. He’s coming off a victory over former champion Luke Rockhold. Given his attain drawback and the way he will get hit regularly, it seems that Whittaker will choose him other than the skin and frustrate him. A win over Costa ought to earn one other title shot.

8 Jack Hermansson if he defeats #5, Derek Brunson in December

Whittaker has already overwhelmed a majority of the division’s prime 5. Hermansson will enter the highest 5 with an upset over Brunson. Whittaker has not confronted him but and might have him make a fast turnaround and battle on the rumored Australia card within the first quarter of 2023.

The Winner of Adesanya and Alex Pereira
If Adesanya defends his belt, there will probably be no clear #1 contender in addition to Whittaker. If Pereira wins and doesn’t give Adesanya a right away rematch, Whittaker could possibly be subsequent. He may dominate him on the bottom if he avoids getting hit by Pereira’s fists of dynamite.

For now, the one factor on “The Reaper’s” thoughts is the French bakeries and Christmas. Bon Appetit!

Anik Subramanian is an aspiring MMA journalist primarily based in the USA. He found his ardour for MMA when the game was the primary to return to dwell motion throughout the pandemic. He’s additionally a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has been a lifelong sports activities fan.