Where does Robert Whittaker go from here?
Robert Whittaker is now in no man's land. He remains among the best fighters at 185 pounds, but his path back into title contention has grown even more difficult. 'The Reaper' has a competitive fire burning within. He yearns to reclaim the middleweight title he lost years ago on home soil.
UFC 290 presented him with what was likely his last chance at scoring a rematch against reigning middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya for divisional supremacy. Unfortunately, things didn't quite go his way. In fact, they couldn't have gone any worse for the Australian.
Not only was he beaten, he was finished. Before UFC 290, Robert Whittaker hadn't lost to any 185-pounder besides the champion himself. While a loss rarely means a fighter will never challenge for a title again, it could complicate things for someone in Whittaker's position, given that he's already lost twice to Adesanya.
So, what does 'The Reaper' do now that his title dreams are on death's door?
Robert Whittaker's dilemma at middleweight
It's not easy to book a fighter into a trilogy bout with someone to whom they've lost twice. This is the case with Robert Whittaker, regarding his fights with Israel Adesanya. Back in late 2019, he headlined UFC 243 in front of his Australian faithful. He was the middleweight champion and supremely confident.
After two rounds inside the octagon with Adesanya, however, Whittaker was unconscious and a champion no more. He had fallen victim to the same monster he's always struggled to overcome: a long, rangy counterpuncher. Forced to operate from a distance longer than he's accustomed to, Whittaker lunged.
Il y’a deux ans, Israel Adesanya mettait Whittaker KO à deux reprises dans le même combat 💥 https://t.co/wcQZaRvnsL
Without the ability to stutter-step into combinations from mid-range and against an opponent who matched his speed, he was brutally countered, just as he was against the great Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson during the Australian's days as a welterweight. After losing, Robert Whittaker went on a tear.
He embarked on a three-fight win streak, scoring two lopsided win over Jared Cannonier and one of Israel Adesanya's most challenging foes in Kelvin Gastelum. His purple patch of octagon success earned him a title shot against 'The Last Stylebender'. Despite his best efforts, he lost again, this time by decision.
By then, Adesanya had grown disinterested in a third fight with Whittaker. After all, he'd beaten him twice. But 'The Reaper' was undeterred and vowed to beat every contender in the division until there was no one left for Adesanya to fight but him. So, he faced another one of his rival's former opponents, Marvin Vettori.
Robert Whittaker handed him a one-sided beating to earn a title eliminator against Dricus du Plessis, a fighter with an awkward style that looks fundamentally wrong but has somehow led to a lengthy win streak over the middleweight elite. But surely, everyone thought, his run would end with Whittaker, the elite of the elites.
Dricus Du Plessis defeats Robert Whittaker via TKO (Power Jab to GnP) in the 2nd at UFC 290
I for one owe an apology to DDP. He deserves respect
DDP wins Performance of the Night
(@YT_SKYLO1) https://t.co/Yr6N5C2tB9
Instead, Robert Whittaker was TKO'd at UFC 290 by the rising South African. Now, it's up in the air exactly how many wins he'll have to string together to become the number one contender again if 'The Last Stylebender' is still the champion after he faces Dricus du Plessis later this year.
Furthermore, Whittaker isn't a terribly active fighter. He's injury-prone and typically fights once per year but will sometimes fight twice. So how much time would he need to rack up enough wins for the UFC to book him in another title shot? He could face the winner of the Paulo Costa-Ikram Aliskerov matchup, but what then?
Fight age and his prospects in other divisions
As time passes by, it seems clearer that becoming a UFC champion again at middleweight might not be in the cards for Robert Whittaker at this point in his career. Israel Adesanya is a stylistic nightmare for him, and Dricus du Plessis proved to be too great a physical specimen
'The Reaper' has never been the biggest middleweight, and with each generation, the 185-pounders grow larger and stronger. Furthermore, his fight age could be catching up to him. Robert Whittaker is, by no means, old. He's set to turn 33 in December. But he has fought 31 times in his career as a professional.
The Global Scorecards for both of Robert Whittaker's wars against Yoel Romero.
#UFCVegas24 https://t.co/7RnsXaAY3v
Most importantly, those 31 fights have taken a toll on his body due to the wars he's been in and the damage he's sustained. Robert Whittaker had two extremely grueling back-to-back fights with Yoel Romero, with him getting dropped and hurt badly in both outings, which surely stripped years off his MMA career.
After that, he was knocked out by Israel Adesanya at UFC 243. Not long after that, he was rocked by Jared Cannonier, though it was in a fight he won and dominated. Now, he's been TKO'd by Dricus du Plessis. This is also without considering how the accumulated damage could be worsened by his injury history.
If he's taken too much damage over the years, the reigning champion is a stylistically difficult matchup to whom he's lost twice, and the middleweights are getting bigger, what course of action does he have left? A move back down to welterweight would not be the problem solver many might assume it to be.
The older he grows, the more difficult it'll be for Whittaker to cut down to 170 pounds, a weight class he hasn't fought in, in 9 years. If he does so, he might find that he's too diminished from a strength and durability standpoint to do much. Furthermore, his fighting style relies on speed.
At welterweight, he won't have such an advantage over smaller men with leaner frames. He's at a crossroads in his career, and even he might struggle to determine what comes next.