Whittaker reveals rocky road to getting chocolates
On the playground at school, Robert Whittaker was known as the poor kid.
Alcoholism affected his family. His parents had split up. He and his brother, Steven, were raised by their father, Jack, in a western Sydney housing commission unit.
Growing up in the housing commission environment, Whittaker saw a lot of hardships — his own and those of the people living around him. The struggles of life surrounded him daily; when he overcame one, another was just around the corner.
Enrolled in a karate school at a young age to learn self-discipline and self-defence, mixed martial arts became Whittaker’s ticket to a better life. Now, he wants to share his story.
“I feel that if someone like myself told their story to some of the kids I grew up with and they could relate to that story they might have been able to take something from it,” Whittaker said. “They might have been able to take a message or anything else from it that these hardships and trials, they hit everybody — it doesn’t matter who they are.”
The 28-year-old will be on a speaking tour around Australia and New Zealand later this year, recounting tales of his youth, the troubles he faced throughout his life, and how he clawed his way to where he is today — one of the top mixed martial artists in the world.
“Selfishly, I think it’s going to be a sort of therapy session for me. Being able to speak about it and tell my story is going to allow me to understand it that much better, honestly. Although I’m doing the speaking tour, I’m still working through a lot of these things I’m talking about. This is a way for me to just put myself on the spot and just run with it. I think selfishly there’s that, but if one person can relate to my story and take something from it, then the whole tour was a success. One person being impacted by something can make a huge difference in society.”
The New Zealand-born fighter made his professional MMA debut in 2009, cutting his teeth on the local scene. In three years, he posted a 9-2 record with all wins by knockout or submission, catching the eye of the UFC.
He got his break as part of the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter programme in 2012, winning the welterweight tournament and earning a spot on the main UFC roster. At the time, he was still working as a electrician, and kept his job on hold early in his UFC career.
After making the jump up a weight class to middleweight in 2014, he never looked back. Seven fights later, he was the UFC’s middleweight champion.
“I underwent those trials and tribulations and managed to work my way to a world title,” he said. “I’m not trying to sell a message to try to teach people, I’m not that person. I’m a guy that’s trying to get out there and tell people my story and hope they can relate to some of it and take what they want from it.”
The hardships didn’t stop for
Whittaker as he grew older. He has dealt with more than his fair share of setbacks due to injury and illness, and recently opened up on his struggles with depression, which is something he is still learning how to deal with effectively.
Mental health has become an important talking point in recent years, with awareness of mental illness and how it affects people continuing to rise.
Whittaker recently lost his title to Kiwi Israel Adesanya, who stopped Whittaker in the second round of their bout at UFC 243 in Melbourne earlier this month. It was his first loss since 2014, and his first in the middleweight division.
The loss stung, but the former champion didn’t dwell on it for too long. Instead, he’s getting back into competing, with local jiu-jitsu tournament on his horizon while he awaits his next walk to the UFC octagon.
“Obviously I’m a little disappointed [to lose the title] — I think I’d be broken if I wasn’t — but to be honest everything in the lead-up was absolutely perfect,” Whittaker reflected.
“The fight itself could have been done a little differently, but that’s easy to say reflectively. You have to be prepared to lose sometimes. Fortunately — or unfortunately, whichever way you want to see it — I’ve lost before, but I’ve got back on the horse and I’m worked my way back to a title. I’m only 28 now, so my journey is nowhere near over.
“Hats off to Izzy. We went out there and fought, I got clipped and he won. Hats off to him for that, but it is what it is. It doesn’t make me any less of a fighter. I’m just going to get back in there and beat up the next guy.”
Robert Whittaker Up Close and
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Personal. Bruce Mason Theatre, Auckland. Monday, December 2. ISAAC Theatre Royal, Christchurch. Tuesday, December 3.