is there any chance Whittaker does anything in the UFC at all?

I know that complaining about TUF is played out. But at this point, the talent well is so dry... does anybody really see this Whittaker kid being a factor at 170? What elite level skill does he possess? How is he really gonna threaten the top guys?

 

Not at 170. Maybe 155 if he can get there and go to America and join a top gym.

 

Yeah. I mean that's the problem with a lot of these emerging MMA markets. Hard to trust his comp. And I agree about him needing to drop, but I can't see the UFC letting him do that anytime soon when he just won the show at welterweight.

 

hes young dude. but i think he needs to drop a weight

 

Give him time, The guy's 21.

He has a tonne of potential and now he can dedicate himself 100% to fighting, The new breed of fighter does not have to be elite level, They train all aspects much like Rory Mac has shown is successful.

 

I hope you're right. Maybe he'll prove me wrong.

 

If he joins a top camp he could be really good at 25. He's so young!

 

He's young and he seems to have some good basics. I think it would probably be a good idea to move to the US to expand his skill set. He does have potential, and I think he is the only one on this season of TUF that really has a future in the UFC.

 

I hope he gets off to a good start. I feel like a lot of these TUF guys lose their first couple fights and suddenly it's panic mode. Look at Efrain Escudero.

 

WW is a shark tank but Whittaker is talented & young. I wouldn't count anything out for him if he's brought up steadily.

If he develops a sprawl & brawl style, he could be dangerous. And if he doesn't, he'll probably be a Brian Stann type WW - get the KO or end up getting wrestlefucked. We'll see...

 

Does anyone feel they would have him fight the winner of Mike Ricci and Colton Smith?

Or they will use the status to market both?

 

other guys have dropped down immediately after the show. I don't think that will be an issue. Some of the guys they pickup were already fighting at a lower weight class and moved up to be on TUF.

 

He's got the talent to do it I think. Young guy with potential and if he hooks up with a top flight camp, he can develop into something. I mean you can never tell with dudes coming off TUF. I never thought Steven Siler would be 3-1 in the UFC.

 

I agree but the guy he fought against from the UK might turn out to be good too! Now the fight TUF finale with the 2 UK fighters I don't see much of them going anywhere, just my opinion.

 

I think at the beginning, you will see him primarily fighting on undercards in the UK, Europe, and Asia.

 

Yeah, he'll get highlight reel KO'd a couple of times.

 

He's young, talented, and has an opportunity to compete and train at the highest level.

He can absolutely have an amazing career if he put in the work.

 

I think that depends on who wins. If Smith wins, I doubt they want Colton taking him down and laying on him for 3 rounds. They might be willing to do Ricci vs Whitaker though.


Would LOVE to see him vs a vet like Ludwig though.

 

We'll see. Jonathan Brookins looked good at his finale, then has not looked very good at all since. Or even better look at Court McGee.

 

I have to give him opponent some credit because he looked better than I thought he would. I really thought Whittaker was going to run right through him and he ended up with a tough fight.
Definitely didn't see much talent in the lightweight division. The guy that Freakshow fought in the semifinals looked like he should have been fighting at 135, not 155. He actually looked decent for being so much smaller, and it would be interesting to see how he did against guys his size.