MMAmania.com resident fighter analyst — and aspiring professional fighter — Andrew Richardson breaks down the mixed martial arts (MMA) game of UFC Fight Night 101 headliner Robert Whittaker, who looks to climb the ranks further this Saturday (Nov. 26, 2016) inside Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
Skilled kickboxer, Robert Whittaker, is set to battle with rising power puncher, Derek Brunson, this Saturday (Nov. 26, 2016) at UFC Fight Night 101 inside Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
Whittaker was a solid fighter to watch at 170 lbs., but a pair of tough losses and some difficult weight cuts cause the Aussie to jump ship to the Middleweight division. That turned out to be a spectacular decision, as the 25 year old has won four straight bouts and ascended into the top 10.
Thanks to that momentum, Whittaker has earned this main event slot opposite a fellow top contender. It’s a big match up for the young striker, as it could quickly shoot him into title contention.
Let’s take a closer look at his skill set:
Striking
Whittaker’s kickboxing is quite unique. He holds a black belt in both Hapkido and Karate, as well as a strong boxing background. Fittingly, his style blends those skills together, and it has proven to be a dangerous combination. 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.
Luckily, he avoids the alternating straight punches that haunt many karate fighter’s games.
Thanks to his quick movement, Whittaker is skilled on the offensive or as a counter puncher. Either way, he tends to do his best work with his left hand. He spends a majority of his fights in the Orthodox stance but will occasionally switch to Southpaw to fire off a cross.
Whittaker’s money punch in all aspects of his game is the left hook, but it’s especially effective as a counter. That’s a technique I analyzed live in the video below:
When leading, Whittaker does an excellent job of hiding his hook. He possesses a strong jab and routinely snaps his opponent’s neck back. After that long range strike lands a few times, Whittaker is able to instead bound in with a hard hook to great effect.
In his first round knockout of Brad Tavares, Whittaker showed a really brilliant setup to his left hook. After flicking out a front kick to the mid-section — more on those in a moment– 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).
Another common set up for Whittaker’s hook is to roll following his cross. After Whittaker commits to his cross, 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. That’s a great distance covering strike, which is another specialty of the Aussie. Opposite Uriah Hall, for example, Whittaker landed a couple of sudden superman punches, hiding them with his movement and surprising his opponent.
At range, Whittaker can be a very active kicker. He sometimes forgets this aspect of his game, but it’s a strength nonetheless. When Whittaker remembers to kick, he does a great job mixing it up. He’ll attack his opponent’s legs frequently, often prioritizing speed so he can fire off the strike and return to circling. In particular, Whittaker did a nice job of digging into Hall’s lead leg as he tried to pivot, which made him a far less effective counter puncher.
Additionally, Whittaker will mix in quick front kicks to the head and body. These strikes help him maintain range, as well as set up his punches as described above.
Wrestling
Whittaker is not the most active wrestler around, but that’s an aspect of his game that has yet to really let him down. He’s scored the occasional takedown in close bouts, and “The Reaper” has an extremely impressive 93 perecent takedown defense rating.
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.
Defensively, Whittaker is one of those fighters who is difficult to get a hold of. Despite his sometimes lunging style of punching, Whittaker’s foe is rarely able to duck under his punches and drag him to the mat. Aside from the reactive takedown, closing distance on the Karateka is difficult, which means herding him into the fence or ducking into a shot off a combination is unlikely to succeed.
Even if Whittaker’s opponent is able to get in on the hips, he’s a strong athlete with a solid sprawl. Between range control, athleticism, and technical skill, Whittaker has proven to be a very difficult man to take or hold down.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Whittaker is a jiu-jitsu purple belt, but his takedown defense has kept him from displaying those skills. He has showed solid scrambling ability from his back, but his guard game is definitely something of an unknown. Offensively, Whittaker has yet to attempt a submission inside the Octagon, but he did show a very strong top game opposite Uriah Hall. He picked his shots well from top position and would immediately transition into a guard pass attempt after landing. Within just several minutes, Whittaker had passed his guard numerous times, moving into side control, mount and back mount.
Conclusion
At the moment, Whittaker is definitely a blue-chip prospect. Already in the Top 10 at just 25 years old, Whittaker will likely be a player in his division from some time to come. However, with a win on Saturday night, Whittaker can graduate from prospect to contender and make an impact immediately.
*****
Andrew Richardson, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt, is an undefeated amateur 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.