‘Bobby Knuckles’ leaves his mark
Whittaker in line for unification bout with Bisping after claiming interim middleweight title in Vegas
Apotential superstar emerged from the chaos of the UFC’s International Fight Week as Robert Whittaker looks like he could become a foundational piece for the company going forward.
Saturday may have started with the disappointment and frustration of Amanda Nunes’ 11th-hour withdrawal from her main event championship rematch against Valentina Shevchenko, but it ended with Whittaker delivering a gutsy breakthrough performance to claim the interim UFC middleweight title and set up a title unification showdown with injured champ Michael Bisping later this year.
For the second time in three fights, Whittaker rose to the occasion when thrust into the main event spotlight at the last minute, working through an early round knee injury to find his rhythm and rallying from behind to defeat Yoel Romero by unanimous decision in a performance that put his rare mix of natural talent, technical skill and incredible tenacity on display. This was a master class in takedown defence, resolve and clean, varied striking and it puts the 26-year-old Australian in a position to potentially rule the middleweight division for years to come.
Just as he adeptly rolled with the punches over 25 minutes of action against Romero, Whittaker handled his post-fight faceoff with Bisping with aplomb as the boisterous British champion — currently recovering from knee surgery — started by praising Whittaker’s performance before going “full heel” to kick off what should be an entertaining buildup to their eventual clash later this year.
While Bisping was berating Whittaker for deigning to wear the interim title he had just fought hard to claim and got all fired up and huffy as he is wont to do, the Australian stood there smiling, taking it all in. When Bisping threw down his UFC title belt before storming off, telling his future foil to take it, Whittaker smirked and asked if he was serious, delivering as well-timed a counter as he’d landed all night.
Pushing the title unification clash between Bisping and Whittaker is undeniably the right decision — you can’t have two fighters running around with championship belts and not have them face each other at the earliest date possible — but it also means that the UFC has moved off of the previously announced, previously hyped, previously maligned “superfight” between Bisping and Georges St-Pierre, which is also the correct call.
That pairing made sense from a business standpoint, But it was never a good fit from a divisional standpoint or in terms of the fight calendar and scrapping the idea despite having already invested time and money into promoting the bout is surely a difficult pill to swallow. But it’s the right step to take.
This was a breakout performance for Whittaker in every way — it was his most complete and impressive performance in the cage to date. His poise, confidence and personality resonated with anyone that was getting their first extended exposure to him and the pairing with Bisping is a perfect on so many levels that this fight, whenever it happens, has the potential to turn the man fans call “Bobby Knuckles” (much to his dismay) into a star.
Whittaker, like featherweight champ Max Holloway, doesn’t need to be a trash-talking blowhard in order to build an audience and develop a following; all he needs is a chance to let his natural likability and immense talents in the cage shine, both of which should be on full display opposite the easy-toroot-against and very hittable Bisping.
Saturday in Las Vegas may have started with frustration and disappointment, but it ended with an outstanding title fight and a potential superstar emerging from the wreckage.
Whittaker is the real deal folks and if that’s not already clear to you now, it will be after he unifies the middleweight titles later this year.