Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker has been along the elite of the UFC Middleweights for quite some time now. The former champion has dominated many of his opponents Outside of his title fight loss to Israel Adesanya his only other two octagon losses came back in 2014 almost 7 years ago.
Whittaker’s loss to Stephen Thompson would catapult him into a 9 fight winning streak resulting in him capturing the undisputed Middleweight Championship in a absolute war with Yoel Romero.
Other names along that dominant win streak include Uriah Hall, Derek Brunson, and Jacare Souza. In the title unification bout between himself and the current champion Adesanya he was stopped in the second round which broke the winning streak.
Whittaker was able to rebound quickly with a victory over Darren Till spoiling his middleweight hype train back in June of 2020. Whittaker is someone who constantly puts on impressive performances against who ever he steps into the cage with and the KO loss to Adesanya came as a shock to MMA fans, as it was only Whittaker’s first title defense with the belt.
Even after the loss to Adesnya, Whittaker has kept his name at the top of the Middleweight contender spot as he still sits at the #1 in the rankings according to UFC.com. HIs upcoming fight with Kelvin Gastelum, if he is able to secure a victory, will be his third in a row and make a pretty arguable case for his rematch with the champion.
Whittaker’s shorter title reign was marred a little bit by injury as Gastelum and him were supposed to face off originally for the title but he pulled out due to a hernia injury. Then, after his 50 minute wars with Yoel Romero he again needed surgery to repair some ligament damage done but oblique kicks from Romero.
I think a fully healthy Whittaker knowing more about who Adesanya is as a fighter provides a better matchup between the two. Adesanya is also coming off a failed attempt at becoming a two division champion after losing a decision to Jan Blachowicz.
Adesanya cannot be underestimated however as he defeated Whittaker in dominant fashion in their first matchup against each other. A second fight can definitely have different outcomes looking at a recent example of the second Poirier vs McGregor fight.
A rematch, should Whittaker defeat Gastelum is the next logical step for the promotion and would promise to be an exciting matchup again between the two with a lot of hype in the build-up. Everything will be decided come Saturday April 17th.