"Get rid of them altogether" - Robert Whittaker reveals one rule to implement to try and fix the judging in MMA
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has not fought since his July loss to Dricus du Plessis, and right now, he does not have a fight booked.
‘The Reaper’ remains ranked at No.3 in the 185lbs division, though, and as one of the most experienced fighters on the roster, his voice clearly carries weight among the fans.
A recent Twitter post, for instance, which stated that he’d come back stronger from his loss, quickly received positive feedback.
Robert Whittaker recently appeared on the MMArcade podcast to discuss various subjects. Interestingly, when it came to some questions from the fans, one thing that came up revolved around MMA’s judging system.
When asked about one change that ‘The Reaper’ would implement to fix judging in the sport, Whittaker had the following to say:
“I reckon, same response as I had last week, Johnny...go back to PRIDE rules, like two ten minute rounds, okay? Nobody gets a finish, you call it a draw.”
The ‘PRIDE rules’ that Whittaker refers to are, of course, the rules used by the Japanese promotion, which was bought out by the UFC in 2007.
The rules included ten-minute rounds with the fight being judged as a whole rather than round-by-round. Controversially, the promotion also allowed knees and kicks to the head of a downed opponent.
Watch a highlight of PRIDE’s most brutal knockouts below.
When asked whether he’d prefer to fight under PRIDE rules, Whittaker stated the following:
“No-one’s getting out of ten minutes with me, no-one at all, no way! You don’t need the judges, get rid of them altogether.”
Watch Robert Whittaker discuss this below.
Robert Whittaker next fight: Who could be next for ‘The Reaper’?
Despite his loss to the surging Dricus du Plessis in July, Robert Whittaker remains ranked highly in the UFC’s middleweight division. He currently occupies the No.3 spot on the ladder.
Unsurprisingly, then, a number of potential rivals for ‘The Reaper’ have come forward since his recent defeat, looking for a future fight with him.
No.9 ranked Brendan Allen, for instance, stated that “whenever/wherever” he’d be down for a fight with the Australian in what was a highly respectful social media post.
With Whittaker himself stating that he doesn’t want to experience what he felt against Du Plessis again, it’s likely that he’ll want to head back to the octagon soon. With that in mind, ‘All In’ could well be a viable opponent for him.