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VIDEO(SOURCE):
CLIFFS:
-Robert is now fond of the nickname "Bobby Knuckles", him and DC(Daniel Cormier) agree it's a good name.
-Claims a lot things were going on leading into the first fight at UFC 243. Says all of the external factors from outside of the fight made Robert directed his frustrations towards Israel and tried to take it out on him.
This clouded his mind with anger and hate.
-DC comments on it by mentioning if the Kelvin Gastelum(16-8,1NC) performance against Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya(21-1) at UFC 236 had an influence on how Whittaker approached the fight at UFC 243. Robert Whittaker's response: "I'd have to remember back to the camp, but you know in the camp we were working on a lot of get in fast, get in hard and stick because he's a rangy guy. How do you beat a rangy guy? You get inside. I think that the fact my emotions were kind of playing with me, it influenced that to a reckless degree. It is what it is."
-DC relates to Robert getting emotional against an opponent, he recalls doing it in his first fight against Jon "Bones" Jones(26-1,1NC) for the light heavyweight championship back at UFC 182.
-DC complements Robert's recent run and the improvements he's shown. Robert's response: "After the loss, I changed a ton of things....mentally more than anything, but also physically with how I want to fight, what I want to achieve with the fight, understanding my drives, goals and everything like that. It gave me clear direction on where I want to proceed and one of those things is just trying to get closer to a perfect mixed martial artist, which I think is someone who uses all weapons/all tools given to him....The loss gave me the freedom to try, expand and be better....Like if it ain't broke don't fix it, I had no trouble beating everybody else with the same skillset. There was no need to change it, but that loss gave me the opportunity to be better."
-DC calls back to when Robert was champ and Israel was on the rise: "Then you see the new guy shooting through the rankings and everybody is talking about this new guy when you're the long-running champion. That had to play a part too right? Did that bother you a little bit?"
-Robert responds to DC's question: "Yeah definitely, definitely and it upset me. You know everyone was talking about him and underselling me and I don't know it was a weird dynamic. It did make it personal because it was personal, but that was then."
-Robert says he was never fixated on the title during this recent run, he now tries to take one fight at a time and appreciates the process of it. "I'm a completely different man now, than I was then.... I'm different, I'm happy, and I'm enjoying it....You know it's made the biggest difference in how I fight, my approach to fighting and because of that I'm just happy. Happy Rob is a dangerous Rob." Robert on how his mentality changed after the loss to Israel.
-DC gives Robert credit for his new gym opening up, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Smeaton Grange. Robert uses this gym as a business and a facility to train out of.
-Robert is proud that he has fallback plans and other things to focus on after he's retired from his MMA career. Happy that he can use these avenues to support his kids.
-DC asks Robert about gaming, this leads to a funny discussion between the two on sports games.
Robert Whittaker on UFC 4(The video game): "I don't want to play UFC 4. Like I do that(In real life).... Sometimes I feel like I'm training in the game, like I should be actually training you know."
-Robert says this is the lightest he's ever been at this point in a fight week for middleweight. Weight cut is going well.
-He's happy to be fighting in front of fans again, sees himself and other fighters as gladiators. Claims MMA is a blood sport for the entertainment of others.
CLIP:
UPCOMING FIGHT:
Robert "The Reaper" Whittaker(23-5) will be fighting for the middleweight title in a rematch against the champ, Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya(21-1) at UFC 271 on February 12th 2022.
The bout will take place at the Toyata Center in Houston, Texas.
Poster:
CLIFFS:
-Robert is now fond of the nickname "Bobby Knuckles", him and DC(Daniel Cormier) agree it's a good name.
-Claims a lot things were going on leading into the first fight at UFC 243. Says all of the external factors from outside of the fight made Robert directed his frustrations towards Israel and tried to take it out on him.
This clouded his mind with anger and hate.
-DC comments on it by mentioning if the Kelvin Gastelum(16-8,1NC) performance against Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya(21-1) at UFC 236 had an influence on how Whittaker approached the fight at UFC 243. Robert Whittaker's response: "I'd have to remember back to the camp, but you know in the camp we were working on a lot of get in fast, get in hard and stick because he's a rangy guy. How do you beat a rangy guy? You get inside. I think that the fact my emotions were kind of playing with me, it influenced that to a reckless degree. It is what it is."
-DC relates to Robert getting emotional against an opponent, he recalls doing it in his first fight against Jon "Bones" Jones(26-1,1NC) for the light heavyweight championship back at UFC 182.
-DC complements Robert's recent run and the improvements he's shown. Robert's response: "After the loss, I changed a ton of things....mentally more than anything, but also physically with how I want to fight, what I want to achieve with the fight, understanding my drives, goals and everything like that. It gave me clear direction on where I want to proceed and one of those things is just trying to get closer to a perfect mixed martial artist, which I think is someone who uses all weapons/all tools given to him....The loss gave me the freedom to try, expand and be better....Like if it ain't broke don't fix it, I had no trouble beating everybody else with the same skillset. There was no need to change it, but that loss gave me the opportunity to be better."
-DC calls back to when Robert was champ and Israel was on the rise: "Then you see the new guy shooting through the rankings and everybody is talking about this new guy when you're the long-running champion. That had to play a part too right? Did that bother you a little bit?"
-Robert responds to DC's question: "Yeah definitely, definitely and it upset me. You know everyone was talking about him and underselling me and I don't know it was a weird dynamic. It did make it personal because it was personal, but that was then."
-Robert says he was never fixated on the title during this recent run, he now tries to take one fight at a time and appreciates the process of it. "I'm a completely different man now, than I was then.... I'm different, I'm happy, and I'm enjoying it....You know it's made the biggest difference in how I fight, my approach to fighting and because of that I'm just happy. Happy Rob is a dangerous Rob." Robert on how his mentality changed after the loss to Israel.
-DC gives Robert credit for his new gym opening up, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Smeaton Grange. Robert uses this gym as a business and a facility to train out of.
-Robert is proud that he has fallback plans and other things to focus on after he's retired from his MMA career. Happy that he can use these avenues to support his kids.
-DC asks Robert about gaming, this leads to a funny discussion between the two on sports games.
Robert Whittaker on UFC 4(The video game): "I don't want to play UFC 4. Like I do that(In real life).... Sometimes I feel like I'm training in the game, like I should be actually training you know."
-Robert says this is the lightest he's ever been at this point in a fight week for middleweight. Weight cut is going well.
-He's happy to be fighting in front of fans again, sees himself and other fighters as gladiators. Claims MMA is a blood sport for the entertainment of others.
CLIP:
UPCOMING FIGHT:
Robert "The Reaper" Whittaker(23-5) will be fighting for the middleweight title in a rematch against the champ, Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya(21-1) at UFC 271 on February 12th 2022.
The bout will take place at the Toyata Center in Houston, Texas.
Poster:
