Former undisputed UFC middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker has refused claims from the undefeated welterweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev that he turned down an offer to fight him in his Octagon return, as well as noting his intentions to see how this weekend’s UFC 287 title fight plays out.
Whittaker, the current #2 ranked middleweight contender, most recently featured in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night Paris back in July of last year, defeating recent UFC 286 winner, Marvin Vettori in an impressive, one-sided unanimous decision victory.
The victory returned Whittaker to the winner’s enclosure, having previously suffered a unanimous decision rematch loss to former champion, Israel Adesanya at UFC 271 back in February of last year in a championship fight.
Breifly expected to feature at UFC 284 in February of this year, the former undisputed middleweight champion was linked with a fight against division contender, Paulo Costa, however, the Brazilian elected against penning a bout agreement for the Perth, Australia card – scuppering a planned pairing.
Robert Whittaker denies avoiding a fight with Khamzat Chimaev
In recent weeks, the aforenoted Chechen finisher, Chimaev has claimed the trio of Alex Pereira, Colby Covington, and even Whittaker have rejected offers to fight him – a claim the latter has vehemently rejected.
“Someone said (Khamzat) Chimaev offered me a fight and I turned it down,” Robert Whittaker said during an interview with MMArcade Podcast. “I was never offered a fight with Chimaev, and that’s that. That’s that – that’s it. I haven’t been offered any fight.”
“I’ve just been waiting, and like I’m sure I could’ve asked for someone in the meanwhile,” Robert Whittaker explained. “Like, I’ve been talking to the UFC and I’ve been asking what’s up. The communication has just been, ‘Let’s wait and see what happens with this title shot.’ I haven’t received any sort of written contract asking if I want to fight Chimaev on X, Y, Z, that’s not something that has been presented to me.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)