UFC middleweight star Robert Whittaker has revealed that he has his eye on a specific opponent for his next fight. Back in July, Whittaker suffered a shock knockout loss to Dricus du Plessis and is hungry to bounce back against a big name soon.
Robert Whittaker Wants Former Champ as Next Opponent
In an interview with MMArcade, Whittaker expressed his desire to fight former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Usman moved up to middleweight to take a short notice fight against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 but he was defeated via majority decision.
“That fight interests me. I like that fight. I’d fight a middleweight Usman. I don’t think it’s a bad fight to have,” said Whittaker.
“What are you gonna do? Make Usman fight ranks 30 to 20 to get in the top tier? Consecutive defending welterweight champion, he definitely deserves a fight at the top of the charts. How well he’ll do, we will see but seeing fresh blood at the top of the game, that’s interesting. I like it.
“Seeing Chimaev and [Sean] Strickland fighting, that moves things around. I like it. Makes things interesting and exciting. I am here for it. I hope he [Usman] stays. Stick around – it’s fun up here, mate.”
All quotes credit to lowkickmma.com
A Middleweight Great
Whittaker’s loss to du Plessis at UFC 290 meant that he missed out on another shot at the title. Although it was his second defeat in three fights, ‘The Reaper’ sits at number three in the rankings and is still a serious contender in this division. His legendary nine-fight win streak between 2014 and 2018 saw him take the middleweight throne before he was halted by former champion Israel Adesanya.
Despite two losses to ‘The Last Stylebender’, Whittaker went on to take out other top contenders in the division such as Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori. A fight with Usman might make sense at this stage of his career after their recent defeats, and would certainly excite MMA fans everywhere.
If Usman were to decide that middleweight is his new home and take a fight with Whittaker, the stylistic matchup is a fascinating one. Both fighters are accomplished wrestlers who possess technical striking skills and abilities. What with it’s recent shakeup, middleweight is again looking very interesting and unpredictable indeed.
Would you like to see a fight between Robert Whittaker and Kamaru Usman? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
