Robert Whittaker on whether facing Khamzat Chimaev adds pressure to surpass Sean Strickland for title shot: "There's no doubt"
Robert Whittaker believes he will challenge for Dricus du Plessis' UFC middleweight title with a win against Khamzat Chimaev.
On October 26, the UFC will return to Abu Dhabi for a pay-per-view event inside Etihad Arena. The UFC 308 co-headliner features a matchup between top contenders looking to secure a title shot in the middleweight division - number three-ranked Whittaker and number twelve-ranked Chimaev.
Dana White announced last month that Sean Strickland would be the next middleweight title challenger. Since then, the UFC CEO has pulled back on guaranteeing the opportunity, as he could be waiting to see how Whittaker vs Chimaev plays out before officially determining who will fight Du Plessis.
During an interview with Submission Radio, Robert Whittaker was asked if there's added pressure for his upcoming five-round fight against Chimaev due to the middleweight title shot situation. The former 185-pound king responded by saying this, which was transcribed by Championship Rounds:
"I beat Chimaev, I'm fighting for the belt next. That's it. There's no doubt in my mind about that."
In January, Dricus du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland by split decision for the UFC middleweight title. Seven months later, the South African champion returned for his first defense, taking out Israel Adesanya with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round of the UFC 305 main event.
Does Robert Whittaker deserve title shot over Sean Strickland with Khamzat Chimaev win?
Following his loss against Dricus du Plessis, Sean Strickland fought Paulo Costa in a five-round co-main event at UFC 302. Strickland vs Costa failed to reach fan expectations, but Strickland returned to the win column with a split decision.
Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker is coming off consecutive wins against Costa (unanimous decision) and Ikram Aliskerov (first-round knockout). Therefore, an impressive performance against Khamzat Chimaev, despite Chimaev being outside the top 10, could be a difference-maker in the middleweight title picture.
It should be noted that Strickland's last fight against Du Plessis was a razor-thin decision that could've gone either way. As for Whittaker, he suffered a second-round knockout defeat against 'Stillknocks,' which was a more decisive result.
Only time will tell if Whittaker can defeat Chimaev and convince Dana White to give him the title shot instead of Strickland.