After a bad middleweight loss in October, Whittaker is considering a move to light heavyweight to reinvigorate his fighting career.
Are Robert Whittaker’s days at middleweight numbered?
“The Reaper” certainly implied they were in a new interview with MMAarcade Podcast where he was talking about featherweight champion Ilia Topuria’s recent declaration that he wanted to move up to lightweight.
“When champs go up or down, it stalls the division out so hard,” Whittaker said of Topuria’s move. “Don’t get me wrong. If I was champ, I’d be doing the same thing. I’m no saint here. I love my own agenda as well. But I’m just saying it’s like a thing, right?”
When asked if he’d consider going back down to welterweight where he competed til 2014, he gave an emphatic no.
Robert Whittaker seems like he’s thinking about a move up to Light Heavyweight and honestly wouldn’t be a bad idea for where he’s at in his career pic.twitter.com/vyIfdG6xKn
— Jason Williams (@jasoneg33) December 22, 2024
“I wouldn’t go down, I can’t go down,” Whittaker said before adding, “I’m still playing with the idea of going up to light heavyweight. It’s just like, I’m a big dude. Much bigger than people think I am.”
“I don’t know. It’s Christmas,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t want any stressful questions,”
For years the only person capable of beating Whittaker at 185 pounds was Israel Adesanya, who did it twice. Then Dricus Du Plessis beat him in a 2023 title eliminator, and most recently Khamzat Chimaev smeshed him in October. It all leaves “The Reaper” looking like a gatekeeper in the division rather than a contender.
Would he fare any better at light heavyweight? You could argue it’s a weaker division and there’s certainly a number of interesting fights for him there. Could he compete size-wise? It’s something we’d love to find out in 2025. Sign us up!