"I've been working on hitting hard" - Robert Whittaker lays out approach for his upcoming fight with Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris
Ahead of his upcoming fight at UFC Paris this weekend, Robert Whittaker laid out his game plan and how he expects to beat the tough Marvin Vettori.
Vettori has been absent from the octagon for almost a year after his five-round war with Paulo Costa on October 23, 2021. Following his win over the Brazilian, the Italian is looking to get back into title contention and believes he can beat current 185lbs champion Israel Adesanya if they ever meet for a third time.
Speaking on Submission Radio, Whittaker claimed that he'd test Marvin Vettori in the cage and has full intentions of knocking out the European fighter for the first time in his career.
"I want to hit him as hard as I can. I've been working on hitting hard. I wanna test his mettle, you know, I understand the top fighter he is. The grit, the tenacity he has and the type of fight that he wants, but yeah, I want to get in, I've got 15 minutes to put on a show, [to] put on a barn burner, and that's exactly what I want to do... It would be amazing to be the first one to finish him. These guys at the top level are very hard to finish, they're there for a reason, everyone's tough."
The Australian has only ever lost title fights since making the jump to the middleweight division and hopes to keep that impressive streak untainted when he clashes with Marvin Vettori in the co-headliner of UFC Paris on September 3.
Check out what Robert Whittaker had to say:
What must happen for Robert Whittaker to get another middleweight title shot?
Since dropping his title to Israel Adesanya in 2019, 'The Reaper' has been in solid form inside the octagon. But he failed to recapture the title at UFC 271, losing via decision to 'The Last Stylebender'.
A win over Vettori may not be enough for the Australian to put himself straight back into the title picture, but that could change if the current champion is dethroned by the heavy-hitting Brazilian Alex Pereira.
Depending on how the 185lbs title fight goes at UFC 281, Robert Whittaker may only need one win to once again have a chance to reclaim his throne. If the title doesn't change hands, the 31-year-old will likely have to win another fight in impressive fashion before facing Adesanya in a trilogy bout.