Is it me or Whittaker Doesn't Seem Hungry for a Title Shot?

[Wreckless]

Since he lost to Izzy he doesn't seem too eager to get another crack at the title.

He already beat two top opponents (Till & Cannonier) since he lost his belt. Could have easily asked for a title fight after beating Cannonier but is now fighting another contender.

Is it the fact that it's less stressful to not hold a belt than it is to be champ? Is it because he's not confident he has the tools to beat Izzy?

Because clearly he's the #1 guy in the division and has been for a while besides Izzy beating him.

 

[Klaavical]

His shelf life has expired, 30 is the new 50

 

[Post 2 Decision]

He doesn't want to get embarrassed by Izzy again, I don't blame him

Dude almost got knocked out by Darren Till

 

[JonJonesNeedle]

It's you.

Rob stated that he's not in a rush to get the TS back in October because he wanted to enjoy the holidays with his family. Which is perfectly reasonable. But you better believe he wants that rematch with Izzy and the TS, it benefits him and his family for him to champ. More money and opportunities.

 

[0-2]

I honestly don’t see Whittaker beating Adesanya. Ignoring the recency bias from the Blachowicz fight. He doesn’t have the takedowns nor the elite grappling to give Izzy trouble. Striking wise Izzy will KO him again

 

[Mesos]

Since he lost to Izzy he doesn't seem too eager to get another crack at the title.

He already beat two top opponents (Till & Cannonier) since he lost his belt. Could have easily asked for a title fight after beating Cannonier but is now fighting another contender.

Is it the fact that it's less stressful to not hold a belt than it is to be champ? Is it because he's not confident he has the tools to beat Izzy?

Because clearly he's the #1 guy in the division and has been for a while besides Izzy beating him.

Hes been lackadaisical about wanting the rematch. To the point where Dana was like wtf? And then ended up letting Israel move up for Jan fight instead. Whittaker got destroyed in that fight as much as his fanbois dont want to admit. Im a fan of Whittaker too but its pretty obvious hes not hungry for it, he knows how difficult Israel is as an opponent.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

We see the same thing, but I think it’s refreshing.

He’s calmly knocking off the other top 5 contenders and earning a rematch “the old fashioned way”. And not making a big deal about it.

You are suspicious of it, but I applaud it.

 

[sssleeper]

He had a new born in January so didn't want to fight until April. Izzy stated he doesn't want to fight him again despite Rob being the rightful no.1 contender. Rob has decided not to sit around and wait and continues to take on contenders. When Costa pulled out of their fight Rob's team asked for the Izzy fight but didn't get it.

With regard to not seeming like he wants it just look at his history, it's nothing new in terms of his demenour. The dude simply doesn't call people out or campaign for things. He trains hard, shows up and fights. Anyone. When asked point blank if he wants the Izzy fight he has stated yes.

 

[Wreckless]

It's you.

Rob stated that he's not in a rush to get the TS back in October because he wanted to enjoy the holidays with his family. Which is perfectly reasonable. But you better believe he wants that rematch with Izzy and the TS, it benefits him and his family for him to champ. More money and opportunities.

It's me?

Most champs would have asked for a rematch by now. Especially a solid champ like Whittaker.

Shiet, most fighters request a title shot for much less. Yet Whittaker went on to fight two top 5 opponents, beat them, and is going onto a third fight against a top contender (who was supposed to be Costa) and never requested a rematch with Izzy?

Cmon. If he really wanted to get that title fight he could have gotten it by now.

 

[Brodie]

You’re right

“He’s a tough fight, man,”Whittaker said at the UFC 254 post-fight press conference (h/t Abhinav Kini of The Body Lock MMA). “I’m not stoked to fight him. He’s a hard fight, he’s so good. And he only looked better in his last fight [laughing]. And the fact that he beat me once already.”

Direct quote from Whittaker after beating Cannonier

Cant blame Rob, Izzy practically knocked him out twice during their first fight and made him look like a drunken bar room brawler

 

[Wreckless]

We see the same thing, but I think it’s refreshing.

He’s calmly knocking off the other top 5 contenders and earning a rematch “the old fashioned way”. And not making a big deal about it.

You are suspicious of it, but I applaud it.

I guess i'm just not used to this anymore. Never thought about it this way. But you're right.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

He said after his last fight that they were having another kid in January and he didn’t want to fight until March. And he knew Izzy would fight somebody in the meantime. So he’s doing pretty much exactly what he said. But, as usual Dana twisted his words around and here we are.

I would expect him to call out Izzy if he beats Gastelum.

 

[FKAri]

He hasn't figured out Izzy and he knows he has nothing new to offer. At least that's the impression I get.

 

[StoneColdSteveAustin]

He doesn't want to get embarrassed by Izzy again, I don't blame him

Dude almost got knocked out by Darren Till

that fight showed that Rob has deteriorated in the fight game. Till still lost but that wasn’t the top version of Robert.

personally I think Robs time has come and gone. He’s still good but not like he once was

 

[Simple Southerner]

I'm with you he doesn't seem too excited about another title shot right now. But what happens if he keeps winning? He's gonna get a title shot anyways so

 

[SeattleFightFan]

that fight showed that Rob has deteriorated in the fight game. Till still lost but that wasn’t the top version of Robert.

personally I think Robs time has come and gone. He’s still good but not like he once was

He needs to get his “fly like a butterfly” back. If he used movement like he had against Jacare, he would give Israel a run.

But he seems to have decided to fight like Lawler and RDA instead. Which Israel will eat up twice and ask for thirds.

And that’s a shame, because he was damn good with that footwork in his tool belt.

 

[blaseblah]

I honestly don’t see Whittaker beating Adesanya. Ignoring the recency bias from the Blachowicz fight. He doesn’t have the takedowns nor the elite grappling to give Izzy trouble. Striking wise Izzy will KO him again

On paper he has the takedowns because he has competed and won championships in freestyle wrestling. The problem is he doesn't use it in fights.

 

[Chael_Sonnen]

You’re right

“He’s a tough fight, man,”Whittaker said at the UFC 254 post-fight press conference (h/t Abhinav Kini of The Body Lock MMA). “I’m not stoked to fight him. He’s a hard fight, he’s so good. And he only looked better in his last fight [laughing]. And the fact that he beat me once already.”

Direct quote from Whittaker after beating Cannonier

Cant blame Rob, Izzy practically knocked him out twice during their first fight and made him look like drunken bar room brawler

Oh mate, now you are just making shit up. Watch the entire press conference. We get it, you stan Izzy, but that doesn't mean you get a license to take shit out of context.

“He’s a tough fight, man,” Whittaker said at the post-fight press conference. “I’m not stoked to fight him. He’s a hard fight, he’s so good. And he only looked better in his last fight [laughing]. And the fact that he beat me once already.

“But I feel like I’ve got a couple of tricks I can roll out. I feel I can play it differently this time. But honestly, I know he’s trying to do everything else and good on him to do that. I’m not thinking about him. He can go up to light heavy or heavyweight. Doesn’t bother me. My plans are Christmas, my baby and hopefully, our timelines line up then.

“I do want to fight him one day,” Whittaker added. “Whether it’s in my career or in the parking lot as two old fellas. I feel like our paths will cross again. As a warrior, it’s something I need to do.

“But I’m not worried about who I fight next. My whole mentality with this game is you line them up, I’ll knock them down — I’m pretty good at that.”

On Dana saying he didn't want the shot:

“I certainly think he took a little twist to what I said,” Whittaker told MMA Junkie on Monday. “I never said I don’t want to fight Izzy. That’s not something I said. I did not say that. I’m looking to fight March, April next year. I would like to fight Izzy. If Izzy’s moving up to fight Jan, then I’ll move up and fight him there if he gets the win. I want that fight. I do want that fight. We just had to work it into that timeline.

“I have no control on what the UFC’s going to do or what Izzy’s going to do, but whether he’s here at middleweight or up at light heavyweight, I’ll take the fight him.”

“They never reached out to me – not once,” Whittaker said. “It wasn’t so much of a twist of Izzy fighting Jan. I can see why they would want to do that, why Izzy would want to do that, why the UFC would want it. I can see that happening. It’s more the twist or how he took my words. Either he misinterpreted it or twisted it a little bit. That one took me for a little bit of a ride. But like I said, my timeline stands. That is the fight that I’ve earned.”

“With the twist on words a little bit, it was confusing,” Whittaker said. “It was a little annoying, but it is what it is. Can’t change anything now. … It’s not something I can be upset about, because it is what it is. I’m more confused. That would be the biggest emotion I have right now – like, confused. I wish the open dialogue was there, I wish the communication was there because I’m pretty easy to work with. What’s been done has been done. My timeline stands, I’m going to look at fighting Izzy whether it’s at light heavyweight or middleweight, early next year. We’ll have to see how the dice roll.”
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[SeattleFightFan]

Oh mate, now you are just making shit up. Watch the entire press conference. We get it, you stan Izzy, but that doesn't mean you get a license to take shit out of context.

“He’s a tough fight, man,” Whittaker said at the post-fight press conference. “I’m not stoked to fight him. He’s a hard fight, he’s so good. And he only looked better in his last fight [laughing]. And the fact that he beat me once already.

“But I feel like I’ve got a couple of tricks I can roll out. I feel I can play it differently this time. But honestly, I know he’s trying to do everything else and good on him to do that. I’m not thinking about him. He can go up to light heavy or heavyweight. Doesn’t bother me. My plans are Christmas, my baby and hopefully, our timelines line up then.

“I do want to fight him one day,” Whittaker added. “Whether it’s in my career or in the parking lot as two old fellas. I feel like our paths will cross again. As a warrior, it’s something I need to do.

“But I’m not worried about who I fight next. My whole mentality with this game is you line them up, I’ll knock them down — I’m pretty good at that.”

On Dana saying he didn't want the shot:

“I certainly think he took a little twist to what I said,” Whittaker told MMA Junkie on Monday. “I never said I don’t want to fight Izzy. That’s not something I said. I did not say that. I’m looking to fight March, April next year. I would like to fight Izzy. If Izzy’s moving up to fight Jan, then I’ll move up and fight him there if he gets the win. I want that fight. I do want that fight. We just had to work it into that timeline.

“I have no control on what the UFC’s going to do or what Izzy’s going to do, but whether he’s here at middleweight or up at light heavyweight, I’ll take the fight him.”

“They never reached out to me – not once,” Whittaker said. “It wasn’t so much of a twist of Izzy fighting Jan. I can see why they would want to do that, why Izzy would want to do that, why the UFC would want it. I can see that happening. It’s more the twist or how he took my words. Either he misinterpreted it or twisted it a little bit. That one took me for a little bit of a ride. But like I said, my timeline stands. That is the fight that I’ve earned.”

“With the twist on words a little bit, it was confusing,” Whittaker said. “It was a little annoying, but it is what it is. Can’t change anything now. … It’s not something I can be upset about, because it is what it is. I’m more confused. That would be the biggest emotion I have right now – like, confused. I wish the open dialogue was there, I wish the communication was there because I’m pretty easy to work with. What’s been done has been done. My timeline stands, I’m going to look at fighting Izzy whether it’s at light heavyweight or middleweight, early next year. We’ll have to see how the dice roll.”
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Thank you.

 

[Ch31ck]

He knows he has nothing for Izzy. He's probably hoping someone like Vettori can take him out, and then he can swoop in and beat Vettori and get his belt back.