Nothing grim about this Reaper
Kiwi-born hardman Robert ‘‘The Reaper’’ Whittaker is riding high in a sport where someone wanting to punch your head in is considered a good thing.
Kiwis and Aussies love a good custody battle. First there was pavlova, then Phar Lap, and later Russell Crowe. Now, there’s Robert Whittaker.
Such are the perils of success for anyone, or anything, remotely connected to both countries.
It’s a compliment, really, and a sure-fire sign you’re doing something right.
For Whittaker, born to a Maori mother and an Australian father, that’s smashing heads and collecting wins inside the Octagon – he’s not called the Reaper for nothing.
The mixed martial artist is enjoying the hottest winning streak of his Ultimate Fighting Championship career, notching up six in a row with a first-round, technical knockout of American Derek Brunson in November.
Of course, as his stock soars, the custody battle only gets messier.
Fans on his social media accounts, such as Twitter and Instagram, have started laying claim to the rising middleweight, currently the world number 6.
Kiwi fans particularly enjoy it when the 26-year-old is promoted alongside the New Zealand flag, like on his fighter profile for the UFC video game by EA Sports.
But it’s not something Whittaker, born at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital, wants to encourage.
His tattoos are testament to that. He sports a Maori design on his shoulder and the Southern Cross on his chest, which he thumps aggressively to celebrate triumphs inside the cage.
‘‘I want to represent both,’’ Whittaker says. ‘‘I’m very proud of my heritage and the blood that runs through my veins. I take a lot of strength from that.’’
His mother was living in Australia when she became pregnant, but wanted to give birth in New Zealand.
‘‘After I was born we came back to Australia. Half of who I am is Maori and my mum’s roots go back to Samoa.’’
The fighter says he was moulded by both Australia and New Zealand.
‘‘Without one or the other, I would not be me.’’
But it’s not just the fans clamouring for a piece of the former trainee electrician, who realised he could make a career out of fighting after winning
The Ultimate Fighter in 2012. The reality show is essentially a mixed martial arts version of The
Apprentice, except contestants fight to stay in the game. The overall winner lands a contract with the UFC, the world’s largest MMA promoter. Since his time on The Ultimate
Fighter, Whittaker has been developing his skill set and turning heads in the process.
His latest win, against hardhitting Brunson, was one of the most exciting rounds of 2016, and landed Whittaker a Performance of the Night bonus.
Shortly after the fight, two former MMA champions Chris Weidman and Gegard Mousasi decided they would like to fight Whittaker – something considered as a compliment in fighting circles.
That’s why Whittaker, who fights out of Sydney, reckons 2017 is going to be a big year.
‘‘I can feel it,’’ he says. ‘‘The going is good and I’ve made enough waves to deserve a tough fight. I’m definitely up there, I’m eligible. They are all starting to respect me. The top five dudes are starting to call me out. I’m a dangerous up-and-coming fighter. I’m a steam train at the moment.’’
And should the UFC put on another show in Auckland, Whittaker would definitely be keen for a ‘‘home fight’’, regardless of the opponent.
‘‘If the timelines converge, I’ll be there. I’m ready to fight anyone.’’
As for the competition, Whittaker has a message for the top five.
‘‘I have the skill set to beat those guys, and every time I step in there [the Octagon] the difference is huge. I’m only getting better.’’
Hoping to build on his recent run of form, Whittaker decided to take very little time off over the holidays.
Not even his own birthday, Christmas, or the birth of his second child could keep him out of the gym for long.
‘‘That’s my job . . . I have to make sure I continue to improve. The sport and my division are rife with opportunities. I think you have to be ready all year.’’
Being a family-oriented fighter, Whittaker has made big changes to his training camps over the past few years. And he believes those changes, allowing him to stay closer to home, are behind his win streak. The mental stress of being away, sometimes at the famed Tristar Gym in Montreal, Canada, for a month at a time, started to lessen his physical state, he says. But he did it because he was young and inexperienced back then.
‘‘I used to travel a lot and was away from my family, but I’m a real family-driven fighter.
‘‘Now I have come back and I’m surrounded by the right people. It was the right decision . . . How can I lose?’’
Atypical training camp could see Whittaker in the gym six times a day. He might start with two sessions of jiu-jitsu, followed by strength and conditioning work after lunch, and finish with MMA and wrestling at night.
His performance coach has everything mapped out with graphs and formulas, which he follows throughout the year.
‘‘When we have a fight we make some tweaks dedicated to a particular opponent. That’s why I’m making these gains. Some sessions won’t be particularly heavy . . . but we make sure we evenly spread it out.’’
As for his diet, Whittaker doesn’t see the need for a nutritionist.
‘‘Everyone knows what crappy food is; high grease, high fat . . . or what clean eating is, they just make excuses not to do it.’’
But the patriotic fighter, who credits both countries for his fighting spirit, says he also owed just as much to martial arts.
He started karate when he was only 6 or 7 years old because his mother wanted him to learn selfdefence.
By the time he was 14, Whittaker and his brother had earned their black belts. Whittaker plays down how quickly they raced through the grades, saying ‘‘we just went consistently’’.
But he acknowledges the effect of martial arts on his life, going on to study Hapkido, a Korean martial art using pressure point strikes, joint locks, and throws, before mixed martial arts. ‘‘It changed me,’’ he says. ‘‘The journey has moulded me into the person I am today, the journey of my mixed martial arts experience has been filled with ups and downs, but through that I have come out a much better man.’’
And his advice to any young, aspiring martial artists, who might see the UFC and fighting as a way to make a buck?
‘‘Take a martial art that you enjoy. Don’t worry about the end result, just enjoy getting up and going to training.
‘‘And there is no right martial art to do, they are all good.’’
I’m very proud of my heritage and the blood that runs through my veins. Robert Whittaker