Latest news with #RobertWhittaker
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Robert Whittaker 'disappointed but not disheartened' after UFC on ABC 9 loss
Robert Whittaker is already looking ahead after falling short at UFC on ABC 9. Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) was lost a split decision to Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in Saturday's main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. He almost finished De Ridder when he dropped him in Round 3, but the former ONE dual-champion hung tough to outlast him. "OK everybody, it's a couple days since the fight, thought I'd give you all an update," Whittaker said on his Instagram. "I'm disappointed, but I'm not disheartened. There were a lot of things I liked about the fight, there were a lot of things I didn't, but I'm going to take it all, head back to the gym, sit with the team, pick it apart and then get back on the horse. That's all you can do. Congratulations to de Ridder. He had a particular game plan, he executed it well, it got him the win. It is what it is sometimes. I'm going to learn from this experience and move forward." Whittaker has his sights set on competing at home in Australia next, something he hasn't done since he lost the middleweight title to Israel Adesanya in October 2019. "This isn't the end of Robert Whittaker, this is just another learning curve, another speed bump," Whittaker added. "I'm going to spend some time with my family, going to just rest and recover a little bit and then hopefully get back on an Australian card. It's been a while and honestly, I'm longing for it. It's been a while since I've fought in Australia, and I'd love to fight here again. It's time, but that's me. Thank you very much everybody, tuning out." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Robert Whittaker gives insight on future after UFC Abu Dhabi loss
USA Today
13 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Robert Whittaker 'disappointed but not disheartened' after UFC on ABC 9 loss
Robert Whittaker is already looking ahead after falling short at UFC on ABC 9. Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) was lost a split decision to Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in Saturday's main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. He almost finished De Ridder when he dropped him in Round 3, but the former ONE dual-champion hung tough to outlast him. "OK everybody, it's a couple days since the fight, thought I'd give you all an update," Whittaker said on his Instagram. "I'm disappointed, but I'm not disheartened. There were a lot of things I liked about the fight, there were a lot of things I didn't, but I'm going to take it all, head back to the gym, sit with the team, pick it apart and then get back on the horse. That's all you can do. Congratulations to de Ridder. He had a particular game plan, he executed it well, it got him the win. It is what it is sometimes. I'm going to learn from this experience and move forward." Whittaker has his sights set on competing at home in Australia next, something he hasn't done since he lost the middleweight title to Israel Adesanya in October 2019. "This isn't the end of Robert Whittaker, this is just another learning curve, another speed bump," Whittaker added. "I'm going to spend some time with my family, going to just rest and recover a little bit and then hopefully get back on an Australian card. It's been a while and honestly, I'm longing for it. It's been a while since I've fought in Australia, and I'd love to fight here again. It's time, but that's me. Thank you very much everybody, tuning out."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
UFC analyst says Robert Whittaker's title days over after UFC on ABC 9 loss
Din Thomas was impressed with the fighting spirit of Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 9, but can't overlook the negative career impact of the result against Reiner de Ridder. Thomas was on-site Saturday in Abu Dhabi serving as the broadcast analyst when former middleweight champion Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) suffered a split decision loss to de Ridder (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at Etihad Arena. It was a competitive battle with both men getting hurt at moments and fighting hard until the end, and two of three judges had it for the former two-division ONE Championship titleholder. At could've been a deflating moment for Whittaker, who lost consecutive fights for the first time since 2014. Instead, he only said he was "butt hurt" about what happened then left the octagon with no further excuses. And Thomas likes what he saw in that moment. "Even when the result was read and he lost, he still seemed to be in a good place," Thomas told MMA Junkie. "I like this for Robert Whittaker because he's not sour, he didn't seem like he was complaining and he wasn't pointing fingers at anybody. He knew what he was in with that fight and he knew it was a tough fight, he knew it wasn't a dominant performance so neither fighter could complain either way. "I was really impressed with Robert Whittaker his ability to withstand those hard times in the fight and have a lot of positivity left a lot of confidence in his ability to win. ... In the trenches in this fight, Robert Whittaker still seemed to be able to bounce back, and I liked that. I thought it was inspiring." Despite his commendable performance, results are almost always the ultimate dictator in the UFC, and now Whittaker's record shows four losses in his past seven fights, albeit to elite competition. At 34, Whittaker has logged more than four hours of total fight time during his run at 185 pounds. It's a crossroads moment going forward, and with the top of the division being as intruiging as ever, Thomas said it would be a good time for Whittaker to drop down in rankings and fight someone who will truly serve as a barometer. "I think you give him Roman Kopylov," Thomas said. "I think you give him Kopylov before you start feeding him to the guys. Before we say, 'We're done with you and we're going to start feeding you.' Because Kopylov is somewhere in the back of the rankings. You give him Kopylov to say, 'We're giving you No. 15 and if you win that we keep you up here. We'll keep you fighting these guys. But if you lose that, now you've got to fight the up-and-comers.'" Fighting up-and-comers is surely a far cry from what Whittaker wants to do, but Thomas said it's not an easy spot. "The Reaper" needs a victory to keep his head above water with the emerging contenders, but as far as the pre-fight plans he expressed to have a "fairytale end" to his career with UFC gold? Thomas said that seems like a long shot. "No, if I had to bet I wouldn't assume he gets there," Thomas said. "It's interesting though because he said he had a four-fight plan to get back to a title. Now it looks like it's going to take about four fights. With a win over RDR it would've of been less than four fights." To hear more from Thomas, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst: Robert Whittaker's title days over after Abu Dhabi loss
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC exec says promotion won't cater headlining fights to specific regions
Don't expect the UFC to change its model for headlining matchups, regardless of the event's location. UFC executive Dave Shaw was asked after UFC on ABC 9, which took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, if the promotion would consider changing its booking style to have main events catered to the local audience. Shaw's response was blunt: "No, we're not." The UFC on ABC 9 main event saw New Zealand-born former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker take on Netherlands-born Reinier de Ridder. The fight turned out to be a thriller, but neither fighter had ties to the region. The same was true when the UFC's headliner for its first trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, featured two American light heavyweights, Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. It's a model that won't change, because for the UFC, putting on the best fight possible in the marquee spot is more important than catering to the local audience. The formula has been the standard for the promotion for quite some time. The main event fight will be the biggest available at the time, while the undercard often features talent with ties to the location of the event. "Listen, the way that Dana (White) puts together these fight cards, he's striving, he's accomplishing the best fights he can possibly make at that moment in time," Shaw said. "We also, when we come back to a location pretty frequently, from some of the conversations that we've had with our partners, with fans, with broadcast partners – yes, you get a lot of energy. "You get a lot of local hometown support for the regional guys, but local fans want to see the global stars, and why would anyone not want to see someone like Robert Whittaker, who's had such an extensive career?" With events in Abu Dhabi in the past, the promotion has succeeded in bringing main eventers that generate more local interest. Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov have headlined events at Etihad Arena, while fighters like Magomed Ankalaev, Khamzat Chimaev and Shara Magomedov have competed on multiple undercards as well. The UFC returns to Etihad Arena on Oct. 25 for UFC 321, which features Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Reinier de Ridder eyes Chimaev vs Du Plessis victor after narrow win over Robert Whittaker
Reinier de Ridder will turn his attention to a middleweight title shot next, after beating former champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi. De Ridder won a split decision against Whittaker after a razor-close contest, emerging a 48-47, 47-48, 48-47 victor. With that, the Dutchman moved to 4-0 since making his UFC debut in November. On top of that impressive run, 'RDR' has pedigree as a former two-weight champion in ONE, which might work in his favour as he looks to race into a title shot. The grappling specialist, 34, was unable to find the stoppage against Whittaker – having TKOed Bo Nickal and submitted Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland in his previous UFC bouts – and he was even dropped by a huge overhand in round two. But just as he did against Nickal last time out, De Ridder sapped Whittaker's energy with brutal knees to the body, and he was able to control the Australian, 34, for long spells in certain rounds. By losing the decision, Whittaker fell to back-to-back losses for the first time since 2014. In his previous fight, in October, he suffered a first-round submission by Khamzat Chimaev, who will challenge Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title in August. And De Ridder is adamant that he wants to fight the winner of that contest, or even weigh in as the back-up fighter. 'Very close,' De Ridder said about his fight with Whittaker. 'I don't want to fight like this. This guy was too tough. I want to finish a guy in the first round, it would be much better. I expected to take him down and choke him out, but he was amazing. So tough, so durable. 'Maybe Khamzat, Dricus next. Give me a chance to fight for that strap.'
