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I, like most other rational fight fans, adore Robert Whittaker.
“The Reaper” is a stellar mix of talent and grit. He’s developed a unique style that stands out from the crowd, and he’s unafraid of taking chances in the cage or with his highly ranked position. You’ll never see Whittaker sitting on the sidelines begging for a title shot. Throughout his championship career, Whittaker has continually focused on improvement, and he’s a personable family man to boot.
Alas, it pains me to say that this Khamzat defeat at UFC 308 was the end of Whittaker’s last great sprint back towards Middleweight gold. It’s a brutal outcome for the Australian, who has looked excellent lately and was scrambling quite well until a sudden crank from “Borz” instantly destroyed his jaw. The brutality doesn’t just come from suffering one of the most unpleasant injuries in combat sports — it’s equally about Whittaker’s increasingly difficult future.
Though still just 33 years of age, the writing is now on the wall for Whittaker. After getting stopped by Khamzat Chimaev, he will have lost to three of the Middleweight Top Five when the updated rankings come out early next week. All three opponents won via finish.
The dream of becoming two-time UFC Middleweight king is over.
Now, Whittaker’s legacy is already excellent. He’s easily the best Australian fighter of all time, and he was victorious twice in title fights. His run up to and including the two Yoel Romero bouts was incredible. Equally great is his work over the last half-decade, dismantling so many contenders who also challenged for Israel Adesanya’s belt.
The particularly sad part is that Whittaker did so much right in his work to regain the belt since first losing to “Stylebender” in 2019. He sharpened his game considerably, as evidenced by his very close rematch with Adesanya three years later. He took on all comers, and when the upset vs. Dricus Du Plessis happened, Whittaker came back more fired up and in peak form.
I don’t doubt Whittaker will attempt to rebound admirably from this defeat as well. He’s still a great Middleweight, it’s just that the title is so much farther out of reach now. He would need a perfect storm of the right people losing and a major win streak of his own that just feels so unlikely. Perhaps a better bet would be a final jump to 205-pounds, a move “Bobby Knuckles” has hinted at in the past. There are serious obstacles ahead at Light Heavyweight, of course, but at least there’s a theoretical road to the belt with a couple big wins.
For complete UFC 308 results and play-by-play, click HERE!