"Ultra instinct Whittaker incoming" - Robert Whittaker's 'I’ve always come back stronger' message wins over MMA Twitter

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker recently shared a motivating message after his loss at UFC 290.

The Australian went up against Dricus du Plessis in a three-round middleweight clash on July 8. The event was held during International Fight Week and took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.

Whittaker came up short that night and lost the encounter via TKO in the second-round. After the defeat, 'The Reaper' took to Twitter to post a picture of himself and in the caption, shared a motivating quote along with a promise to bounce back stronger from his recent setback:

“'It’s not how many times you get knocked down that count, it’s how many times you get back up.' I’ve always come back stronger from a loss," wrote Robert Whittaker.

“It’s not how many times you get knocked down that count, it’s how many times you get back up.”

I’ve always come back stronger from a loss 👊🏽 pic.twitter.com/iwBnmQOdFe

The post was appreciated by several MMA fans who took to the comments section to share motivational words with the former champion.

One individual claimed that MMA fans might see an improved version of 'The Reaper' in his next outing:

"Ultra instinct Whittaker incoming."

Another Twitter user advised Whittaker to learn from his recent loss and improve himself as a fighter:

"Often we learn a lot more about ourselves in failure... & this gives us an opportunity to grow. Seize this lesson, champ!"

There was one person who showered praise on the Australian and hailed him as his "favorite fighter:"

"An absolute champ in and out of the cage 100%. Was, is and will always be my favorite fighter."

You can see a compilation of some of the comments below:

MMA Fans react to Robert Whittaker's Twitter post

Robert Whittaker speaks about his loss at UFC 290

UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker's loss to Dricus du Plessis came as a shock to many as the South African became only the second fighter (after Israel Adesanya) to defeat 'The Reaper' in a 185-pound bout.

During a recent episode of the MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker reflected on his loss to du Plessis at UFC 290. 'The Reaper' shared that he did not intend to experience the emotions of losing again and wished to return to the octagon soon:

"This isn’t how I want to finish my career. This isn’t the feeling I want to experience again. And the only way not to feel like this is to get back into the gym, train like a savage, and get back into the octagon sooner rather than later. Through no fault of my own, the fights have been further apart than I would like. But I aim to change that."

Watch the video below (7:53):