Following Conor McGregor’s outburst at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York prior to UFC 223 last week, many members of the mixed martial arts community – fighters, media members and fans – have given different opinions on how the UFC’s biggest star should be dealt with.
One opinion that recently stuck out, however, is that of middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, who believes that McGregor deserves a stiff punishment:
“He should go to jail,” Whittaker told FanSided MMA. “He’s a high profile athlete, him being a high-profile athlete in MMA makes it a travesty for this sport. I think it sets us back a bit.”
Late last week, McGregor ended up turning himself in to New York police before spending a night in a Brooklyn jail. He was arraigned Friday morning and will re-appear in court in June.
As far as Whittaker goes, the 185-pound titleholder hasn’t competed since winning the division’s interim title with a decision victory over Yoel Romero last July at UFC 213. After Georges St. Pierre vacated his title late last year, however, Whittaker was promoted to undisputed champion.
He was then scheduled to defend his title against Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 earlier this year, but was forced to withdraw due to medical reasons. Rockhold and Romero ended up squaring off for another interim strap, which Romero ended up winning with a brutal knockout.
Now, Whittaker and Romero will run it back to unify the belts at UFC 225, which is set for June 9, 2018 in Chicago.
In regards to Romero, Whittaker appears to have nothing but respect for “The Soldier of God”:
“He was annoying to fight the first time,” Whittaker said. “But I’m happy to do it again.
“He’s a humble, respectful guy,” he added. “That’s all I could ask for in a fellow warrior.”
And in terms of the fight itself, Whittaker claimed that he isn’t focused too much on the result, but rather on himself as a person:
“The results don’t matter, it’s not whether I win or lose my next fight,” he said. “It’s who I am before the fight and after the fight that means so much to me.”
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