"You’ll get distracted” - Robert Whittaker wonders if Alexander Volkanovski’s pre-fight antics caused him to lose focus against Ilia Topuria
Robert Whittaker featured on the recently concluded UFC 298 card alongside fellow countryman Alexander Volkanovski.
The pair featured in the co-main and main event, respectively, with 'The Reaper' defeating Paulo Costa via unanimous decision and 'The Great' suffering a brutal KO loss to Ilia Topuria.
Ahead of the event, there were discussions around whether or not Volkanovski was too old, given that he was 35 years of age entering the fight. The former champion responded to the concerns surrounding his age by filming a hilarious advert, which featured "Old Man Volk."
The Australian kept the persona going during fight week, appearing at the pre-fight press conference in the same outfit he wore in the video. Alongside his skit, 'The Great' also walked out with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on fight night, to the surprise of many who watched.
Whittaker recently reflected on how much Volkanovski's pre-fight antics took away from him focusing on his opponent.
During a recent episode of the MMArcade Podcast, he said this:
"I was thinking leading up to the fight that Volk was doing a lot of things with like, obviously he dressed the way he did. Granted, it was funny as hell... He's obviously doing a lot of media around it, his crew and his team is massive. He walked out with Zuckerberg, I think. It's massive. But I can't help but feel like you'd get distracted. "
Watch Robert Whittaker's video below from 13:10:
Robert Whittaker has two potential opponents in mind for his next fight
Robert Whittaker has bounced back from his TKO defeat to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290 with a stellar victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 298.
The former champion voiced his interest in a rematch with Du Plessis, the current champion at 185 pounds following his UFC 297 win over Strickland. However, promotional matchmakers appear eager to schedule a bout between 'Stillknocks' and Israel Adesanya.
Whittaker also called for a bout with 'Tarzan,' should the South African not be available.
During the aforementioned episode of the MMArcade Podcast, he said:
"I would love to run it back with Dricus, especially cause he got the gold. But I do understand that Strickland is in line, like in the sights a little bit. Everyone's talking about him a lot, he's at the top, and that kind of gives me the path to the gold." [11:30-11:50]