Fighter On Fighter! Breaking Down ‘Bobby Knuckles!’

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight roost-ruler, Robert Whittaker, will throw down with fellow striking specialist, Darren Till, this Saturday (July 25, 2020) at UFC on ESPN 14 inside Flash Forum on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

It’s not easy at the top, and few have experienced a champion’s fatigue quite like Whittaker. The Aussie’s run to the belt was pretty incredible, but his two title bouts with Yoel Romero proved physically damaging. After his knockout loss to Israel Adesanya, Whittaker took some time off to mentally recover from the toll of being an elite fighter.

As a result, there are questions surrounding Whittaker’s return. Will he resume competition at peak level? Is Whittaker going to fall off as a result of wear-and-tear? It’s impossible to say until after Saturday night, but until then, let’s take a closer look at Whittaker’s impressive skill set:

Striking

The blend of karate and boxing is becoming more and more common, but Whittaker is one of the first. A black belt in Karate and Hapkido, Whittaker is a very capable range fighter, but also works well with his hands and from inside the pocket.

In terms of movement, Whittaker remains light on his feet and bounces like a Karateka. He likes to bounce in with quick punches, another trait that reveals his traditional martial arts background. However, once he bursts into the pocket, Whittaker’s combinations are that of a skilled boxer. There is none of that ugly alternating straight lefts and rights from the Aussie.

Opposite Adesanya, Whittaker’s speed and range offense generally served him well. However, his game plan was built on the idea that he would have an advantage in the pocket, which proved incorrect. As such, Whittaker fought tooth-and-nail to spring forward and punch his way into the boxing range … only for Adesanya to out-angle him once there and land brutal counter punches.

It was a painful miscalculation.

Whittaker is dangerous from within the pocket, but much of his work begins outside of that range. Bouncing in place, Whittaker is able to spring forward and close a surprising amount of distance. Often, he does so with the jab, a mark of his boxing experience. Whittaker’s jab and subsequent jab feints make him a very difficult man to deal with at range, as he builds from the strike wonderfully.

The opening two rounds of Whittaker’s second bout with Romero were a great display of what the Aussie likes to do on offense. Keeping his hands low despite the dangerous man in front of him, Whittaker kept his feet bouncing, ready to attack or react. When attacking, most of Whittaker’s offense came from his lead side. He sprung forward with stabbing jabs, lunging hooks, stomping side kicks, and quick step up left kicks.

A common set up for Whittaker’s hook is to roll following his cross. After Whittaker commits to his cross by moving forward with sudden speed, he’ll immediately roll to avoid the counter hook. As he ducks down and moves towards his right, Whittaker can fling out a hard left hand. In the second Romero fight, Whittaker was not often able to land this rolling hook on his foe’s wide guard, but his habit of ducking after throwing his right did save his chin a number of times from Romero’s active check hook.

To score a knockout victory of Brad Tavares a few years back, Whittaker showed another crafty left hook set up. After flicking out a front kick to the mid-section, Whittaker returned into his stance balled up and ready to explode. He immediately sprung into the left hook, which caught his opponent still standing tall after the kick (GIF).

Whittaker kicks behind his jab well, often targeting his opponent’s lead leg. However, a signature technique of “Bobby Knuckles” is the right high kick, often set up by the cross (GIF). Whittaker does an excellent job of varying the timing on his right kick, sometimes mixing in a bit of a pause that allows him to take a better angle before firing. It’s a small detail, but one that gives him a better chance at landing the strike.

Since Whittaker is often striking from outside the usual boxing range, his opponents are forced to close that extra bit of distance as well. Most fighters do not set up their blitz as well as Whittaker, and it’s generally slower too. That’s where Whittaker’s check hook comes into play.

When facing wrestlers especially, Whittaker will carry his lead hand low to help secure an underhook. It’s a bit defensively riskier, but it also allows the check hook to land from a blind angle (GIF). Perhaps the best example of Whittaker’s counter left hook came opposite Derek Brunson, who insisted on pressuring Whittaker face-first. He was able to get away with it for a couple minutes, but eventually Whittaker was able to gain a solid stance while moving backward and crack him (GIF).

Wrestling

In 2017, Whittaker won a gold medal at the Australian National Wrestling Championships and qualified himself to represent Australia in international competition … until UFC threatened to strip his title. There’s a reason Whittaker rose to prominence by laying waste to a series of fighters who rely on the takedown: the man can wrestle.

Whittaker’s offensive takedowns are few and far between, but they normally come in the form of a double along the fence. Whittaker’s left hook is a great punch to raise his opponent’s hands, and it’s not difficult to transition into a shot off that punch. Alternatively, a reactive takedown is an option if his opponent pursues him recklessly.

Against Uriah Hall, Whittaker capitalized on his opponent’s spinning techniques by pressuring into him. When Hall attempted his wheel kick, Whittaker was too close, allowing him to catch Hall off-balance and force him to the mat.

The improvements to Whittaker’s defensive wrestling are amazing. Whittaker has both great hips and a great whizzer. For example, watch Whittaker defend a pair of Romero’s shots here (GIF). Despite a solid entry from the Olympic silver medalist, Whittaker flings his hips backward and punishes the attempt with a knee to the midsection. Romero continues to drive into a hybrid body lock/double leg, but Whittaker backs into the fence and cranks on the overhook to break Romero’s posture. The result is Romero losing control of the Aussie, allowing him to escape back to the center.

Whittaker’s range control makes it difficult for fighters to set up shots on him, which goes a long way in denying the takedown. However, Romero did show that Whittaker’s leaps forward can be timed for a takedown, but even then Whittaker is nearly impossible to hold down as a result to his refusal to accept bottom position. Whittaker kicks at the hips and frames away, potentially giving up his back and trusting his excellent hand-fighting to keep him safe in that situation.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, Whittaker is rarely on his back long enough to display his ground skills, nor does he look to grapple offensively too often. However, he has shown some very smart defensive jiu-jitsu.

For example, Romero will destroy people with elbows if given the opportunity. Whittaker did not allow him to do so, immediately wrapping up double under hooks to control his opponent. From there, Whittaker grapevine’d the legs — again, preventing posture and significant strikes — before transitioning into a butterfly guard. He was unable to fully sweep or escape from there, but elevating Romero did allow Whittaker to scramble to his knees and fight hands.

Whittaker showed very intelligent defense opposite “Jacare,” who at one point nearly took Whittaker’s back standing. To defend, Whittaker remained calm and isolated a two-on-one grip on Souza’s arm, ducking underneath it. Without the ability to use that arm to latch onto Whittaker, Souza was unable to advance further toward the back mount, making a very dangerous position worthless.

Conclusion

Prior to his loss to Adesanya, Whittaker was one of the most impressive champions on the roster. At 29 years old, there is still reason to believe that Whittaker can storm back into title contention, but this bout will prove a critical indicator for where his career heads from here.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC on ESPN 14 fight card this weekend RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+/ESPN “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN+/ESPN at 8 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC on ESPN 14: “Whittaker vs. Till” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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Andrew Richardson, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, is a professional fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. In addition to learning alongside world-class talent, Andrew has scouted opponents and developed winning strategies for several of the sport’s most elite fighters.