Tag: Robert Whittaker

Robert Whittaker to Defend UFC Middleweight Title in Fight vs. Kelvin Gastelum

Robert Whittaker’s next defense of the UFC middleweight championship will be against Kelvin Gastelum. UFC President Dana White told ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto the bout will happen in Australia at some point next year…

Robert Whittaker’s next defense of the UFC middleweight championship will be against Kelvin Gastelum. UFC President Dana White told ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto the bout will happen in Australia at some point next year…

Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum Planned For Australia

It looks like we have a location and date set for Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum. Whittaker is the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title holder. He’s currently serving as an opposing coach to Kelvin Gastelum for t…

It looks like we have a location and date set for Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum. Whittaker is the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title holder. He’s currently serving as an opposing coach to Kelvin Gastelum for this season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” That’s because Gastelum will challenge for the 185-pound gold. While the […]

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UFC 230’s Chris Weidman Predicts Whittaker vs. Gastelum

Chris Weidman has a prediction for the middleweight title fight between champion Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum. Tomorrow night (Nov. 3), Weidman will go one-on-one with Jacare Souza. The bout will serve as UFC 230’s co-main event. Weidman …

Chris Weidman has a prediction for the middleweight title fight between champion Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum. Tomorrow night (Nov. 3), Weidman will go one-on-one with Jacare Souza. The bout will serve as UFC 230’s co-main event. Weidman will return to action in his home state. Born in Baldwin, NY, Weidman is sure to get […]

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Chris Weidman Addresses Past Frustration With Being Overlooked For Title Shot

Chris Weidman addresses why he was upset when Kelvin Gastelum received a title shot instead of him.

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Chris Weidman addresses his past frustration with being overlooked for a shot at the UFC middleweight title after getting his hand raised in his last fight.

A few months ago, the promotion made the call for UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker to fight Kelvin Gastelum fight next.

This bout will go down at a later date that has yet to be revealed. The reason for the delay of the fight is due to them coaching the 28th season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). Weidman has been out of action for more than a year now due to a thumb injury. He sustained the injury during his last fight against Gastelum in July 2017.

Factor In Decision

There were two factors into this decision made by the UFC. One, Gastelum received the title shot due to Weidman’s inactivity. Also, Weidman has gone 1-3 in his last four outings. The former UFC middleweight champion spoke with Fightful to talk about why he was upset with not getting the title shot.

“I was definitely pissed off because speaking to the UFC and the match makers. My management, I was led to believe that I had a chance of getting a title shot against (Robert) Whittaker. Then when I was at UFC International Fight Week, Mick Maynard called me to let me know that I wasn’t going to be able to get it.”

Weidman continued by stating that he thinks it was due to his injury and not being able to compete right away. Weidman understands that and is one of the reasons they tried to make the Luke Rockhold fight happen.

“It was based on my injury and not knowing when I was going to be able to come back. My time table, obviously I was trying to argue that I’d be able to come back. They wouldn’t have to worry about anything. They made the decision that they’d have Kelvin and Whittaker fight on the Ultimate Fighter show. At that time though it was supposed to be a fight that was set way earlier probably around the same time that I’m going to be fighting Luke.”

Chris Weidman Setting The Record Straight

The former UFC champion admitted that he was bothered by not getting a date set for that fight. At the end of the day, he doesn’t feel entitled for a title shot but did bring up beating Gastelum in his last fight.

“When it was set up for that fight to happen. Then Whittaker got injured and now we don’t know. I don’t think there is a date set for their fight yet, I was a little bothered. I’m not entitled to think that I deserve it and I don’t wanna be that guy. I went out there and finished Kelvin Gastelum in my last fight.”

Weidman understands the reality of the situation and it’s pretty clear. Gastelum was more active than him in the last year and it paid off.

“But he went out and won two more fights after that when I was injured. He went out and beat (Michael) Bisping pretty much right after my fight and Jacare by split decision. He did his thing, he was more active, I was out. So, its all good.”

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UFC Champion Calls Out Khabib In Viral Tweet

There has been a never-ending string of opinions in the wake of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s ill-timed brawl following his UFC 229 main event win over Conor McGregor. The UFC’s biggest-ever pay-per-view event last Saturday (Oct. 6, 2018) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, was supposed to be ‘The Eagle’s’ crowning achievement. In one way […]

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There has been a never-ending string of opinions in the wake of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s ill-timed brawl following his UFC 229 main event win over Conor McGregor.

The UFC’s biggest-ever pay-per-view event last Saturday (Oct. 6, 2018) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, was supposed to be ‘The Eagle’s’ crowning achievement. In one way it was, as he submitted former two-division champion McGregor. However, that potentially historic win was marred by his actions shortly thereafter.

Khabib leaped into the crowd to fight McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis, inciting a wildfire of violence. Three of Khabib’s teammates then scaled the cage and assaulted the Irish superstar. The bad blood definitely stems from McGregor’s infamous Brooklyn bus attack, and that’s understandable.

However, UFC 229 provided the stoic Khabib with the opportunity to shut McGregor up in the Octagon. He did that. But his normally soft-spoken style was uprooted by his actions. One UFC champion believes Khabib should not have allowed McGregor’s disrespect to change his own actions.

That man is middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. “Bobby Knuckles” sent a well-liked tweet Khabib’s way containing a deep quote about respect:

A Good Point

The 185-pound ruler has a good point. Nurmagomedov spent the majority of the build-up to UFC 229 keeping his mouth shut even though he probably wanted to explode inside.

Khabib accomplished his ultimate goal and dominated McGregor from pillar to post. There was no need to stoop to his level and commit outside-the-cage violence. The commission presiding over UFC 229 is not impressed and admitted that in a recent statement.

Khabib and McGregor will both face a complaint from the NSAC for their parts in the melee. The champion’s situation seems to be a bit more dire as the commission withheld his purse. Dana White doesn’t believe the NSAC should keep his whole $2,000,000 or strip him of the title. Khabib’s punishment is very much up in the air.

He’s soared up the UFC pound-for-pound rankings in the meantime.

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Gegard Mousasi Reveals Plan To Beat Robert Whittaker

Despite them being in two different promotions, Mousasi is keeping a close eye on Whittaker.

The post Gegard Mousasi Reveals Plan To Beat Robert Whittaker appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Gegard Mousasi sounds off on how fighters can beat UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker – even if they don’t fight in the same promotion.

Different Places

Whittaker won the interim title when he beat Yoel Romero back at UFC 213 in July of 2017 by unanimous decision. Whittaker became the official champion in late 2017.

The UFC has already announced that once Whittaker is healthy enough to fight again, he will make his next title defense against top contender Kelvin Gastelum. Whittaker will also coach The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 28 opposite of Gastelum prior to them fighting for the strap.

The Bellator middleweight champion is slated to fight welterweight champion Rory MacDonald at the Bellator 206 event.

Mousasi Sounds Off

Although they are not in the same promotion obviously, that hasn’t stopped Mousasi from keeping a close eye on the UFC middleweight champion.

He talked about it during a recent conference call. Mousasi noted that Whittaker has an exceptional level of striking ability. He believes that in order to beat him, his opponent needs some good skills in the stand-up area.

“It’s all about matchups,” Mousasi said (transcript courtesy of MMAJunkie). “To fight Whittaker, I think a guy with good skills in standup can defeat him. I don’t care about being the best or not,” Mousasi said. “But on the 29th, I have to be the best.”

Bellator 206 will go down this weekend (Saturday, September 29, 2018). The card will air live from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The preliminary card will air online at 7:00 pm EST while the main card will air on DAZN and Paramount Network at 9:00 PM EST.

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