"I'm lurking for that gold"- Robert Whittaker breaks down his fight with Marvin Vettori, and talks about his future in the middleweight division.
Robert Whittaker has broken down his UFC Paris fight against Marvin Vettori, besides also expounding upon his future in the middleweight division. Whittaker fielded multiple questions during the UFC Paris post-fight press conference and was all smiles while addressing his dominant unanimous decision victory over Vettori in their middleweight bout.
‘The Reaper’ acknowledged that he got off to a slow start. With that said, Whittaker emphasized that he soon figured out how to deal with ‘The Italian Dream’ and secured a one-sided win. The New Zealand-born Australian fighter stated:
“Yeah, I think I let the feeling out process go on a little too long in the first round, started a little slower than I probably would’ve liked. If, in hindsight – but that’s always the beauty of hindsight – and then after I gauged his space, controlled it, worked out his range, yeah, went to work.”
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE 🇦🇺
@RobWhittakerMMA is taking the unanimous decision back to Sydney! #UFCParis https://t.co/pTsT9Z4eaH
Additionally, in regards to his next move, Robert Whittaker suggested that he’d love to compete at the UFC’s Australia fight event that’s rumored to be taking place in early 2023. The former UFC middleweight champion highlighted that he’s a fiend for progress and hinted that he’ll continue to pursue the UFC middleweight title.
Whittaker indicated that he’s uninterested in the politics that’s commonplace in the sport, and simply beats the opponents the UFC books him against. Furthermore, he opined that he’d love a third fight against reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who’s already beaten him twice.
However, he indicated that if the ‘Izzy’ trilogy doesn’t materialize, he’d fight another opponent. When asked if he’s aiming to face the winner of the upcoming Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira matchup, Whittaker said:
“I’m lurking. I’m lurking for that gold. And I’ll be here just waiting for that [Adesanya] rematch or the next challenge. But I’m not just gonna sit on the sidelines for years and chill. This is what I do for a living. And I enjoy doing it. I like putting on a show. So, we’ll wait and see. The future is unknown really.”
Watch Robert Whittaker discuss the topic in the video below:
Robert Whittaker is on the cusp of sweet revenge heading into early 2023.
The last major UFC Australia event witnessed Israel Adesanya beat Robert Whittaker via second-round KO in their first fight in October 2019. Their rematch transpired in the U.S. and saw Adesanya secure a closely-contested unanimous decision win over Whittaker.
Israel Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight title against Alex Pereira at #UFC281 in MSG 🗽 https://t.co/9bOC6AxT2A
Intriguingly, at a UFC fan event earlier this year, UFC vice-president Peter Kloczko said that the UFC could return to Australia in early 2023. On that note, should Adesanya beat Pereira, Whittaker could face him in their trilogy showdown and avenge his losses to ‘Izzy.’