Last night (Sat. July 8, 2017) in the main event of UFC 213 live on pay-per-view (PPV), Robert Whittaker punched his ticket to a guaranteed middleweight title unification bout against champ Michael Bisping, when he took home a unanimous decision win over Yoel Romero to become the interim 185-pound champ.
After the bout Bisping came into the Octagon to confront Whittaker, saying he was ‘disgusted’ by the fact that the New Zealander had UFC gold. Despite the brash words from “The Count,” Whittaker still holds a great deal of respect for the middleweight champion.
At the post-fight press conference, Whittaker reiterated his respects for Bisping and said he knows the Englishman ‘is who he is’ but will still go into any mixed martial arts (MMA) bout with respect for the man standing across from him (quotes via MMA Junkie):
“I haven’t gotten any bad vibes from Michael,” Whittaker said. “He hasn’t done anything crazy to try to get in my face. I think he respects me, as well. He is who he is. And he’s going to do what he’s going to do. And I’m just going to be me.
“I go into the fight with the same amount of respect for every athlete. And I’m going to be me in that fight. I’m going to be me on the media. Outside the fight, I’m going to be me. I’m going to be me, and he can work with that.”
Although he respects Bisping, Whittaker stated that once they’re locked inside the Octagon with the undisputed middleweight title on the line – there will be no mercy:
“We’re going to touch gloves now; it’s fate,” Whittaker said. “We have to fight now. And when we do, there’s going to be no mercy.”
“At this point in time, I’m pretty sure Bisping and I are fated to fight,” Whittaker said. “We were supposed to fight at another time (Bisping pulled out of a scheduled UFC 193 appointment due to an injury), and it’s like snakes and ladders. I had to fight a lot of dudes to get back into that range. But now here I am again. And here we are again.
“We’re going to fight. What Bisping does, who he fights, that’s his own business. I’m taking everything one fight at a time. I’m worrying about me.”
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