Has Robert Whittaker won a UFC belt? A look into 'The Reaper's' record in the promotion
Robert Whittaker has had a stellar UFC career so far, which includes a stint in the welterweight division before making a permanent move to middleweight and becoming a champion.
'The Reaper's' journey with the promotion began in 2012 after earning a unanimous decision win over Brad Scott to win 'The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes'. After winning 'TUF', he went on to split wins and losses before moving to 185 pounds in 2014.
In his 12-year stint with the UFC, Whittaker has amassed a 16-5 record inside the octagon.
Has Robert Whittaker won a UFC belt?
After moving up to 185 pounds in 2014, Robert Whittaker went on an impressive run as he defeated top-ranked middleweight contenders en route to a title fight.
After winning seven consecutive middleweight bouts over the likes of Uriah Hall, Derek Brunson, and Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza, 'The Reaper' earned an opportunity to fight Yoel Romero for the interim middleweight championship at UFC 213. He earned a unanimous decision win to become the interim champion as well as a post-fight bonus for Fight of the Night.
Whittaker was in an interesting predicament as his status as interim middleweight champion was believed to set the stage for a unification bout against the winner of then-champion Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre. He was in attendance at UFC 217 but wasn't brought into the octagon for a staredown after the fight.
Despite the belief that he would be fighting St-Pierre in a title unification bout, that didn't end up materializing as the Canadian relinquished his title the following month and Whittaker was promoted to undisputed UFC middleweight champion as a result.
How many title defenses did Robert Whittaker have during his reign as UFC middleweight champion?
Robert Whittaker was UFC middleweight champion for two years but wasn't credited with an official title defense.
After being promoted to undisputed middleweight champion, Whittaker fought Yoel Romero in a rematch at UFC 225. Although the champion made weight, the fight was changed to a non-title bout after Romero missed weight as he weighed in at 185.2 pounds, 0.2 pounds over the middleweight limit for title fights.
'The Reaper' earned a split decision win over Romero but wasn't credited with the title defense. He then went on to lose his title to then interim champion Israel Adesanya, which took place in front of 57,000+ fans at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.