Robert Whittaker is interested in moving to his third division in the UFC.
Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones have had quite a bit of back and forth in the media as of late, but if you ask the actual UFC middleweight champion in Robert Whittaker, that’s not going to be competitive at all.
“I think Jon Jones would kill him,” Whittaker laughed as he spoke to Submission Radio. “Yeah, I think it’s silly, but then Israel just kind of take jabs and bites out of everyone, doesn’t he? Yeah, he’s got a big mouth.”
On the same interview, Whittaker gave a “guarantee” that he’d quickly beat Adesanya when they eventually face off. After what he expects to be a “short and sweet” night, he says he’d then entertain a possible super-fight against Jon Jones.
“(Jones) kind of cleaned out his division. It’s one of those things. We’ll have to wait and see. I’m gonna fight Adesanya, then I’ll be a little free myself,” he said. “I’ll definitely move up, not down. But if (Jones is) looking for opponents, that’s a fight, that’s a great fight.”
The former welterweight would certainly be the smaller fighter against Jones, but the 28-year-old champion likes his chances.
“Yeah man, why not?” Whittaker said. “I think I could just give him a run for his money. I surprise a lot of people and I’m full of tricks, and I think the intensity I bring into a fight is something that a lot of people aren’t prepared for.
“But he’s a great fighter, he’s super, super dangerous. I’m under no illusion how hard it would be, and yeah, I think it would be fun,” he continued.
“Obviously, all my focus has been on the (middleweight) division and doing work there and making waves and making moves there. But seeing Jon Jones looking for opponents and then idea of moving up, I don’t hate that idea.”
Whittaker spent his first couple of years in the UFC as a young welterweight prospect, where he won the TUF Smashes season and went 3-2 in the division. Right before turning 24-years-old, he moved up to middleweight where he found great success, going 8-0 and taking the UFC title in the process.
After two wins over a massive and powerful guy like Romero — who also missed weight — I don’t doubt that Whittaker can find success moving up to his third division in the UFC. As for his chances against Jones though, well, that’s a different conversation altogether.