Robert Whittaker = "A Changed Man" ... for the Worse

[HolmeZy55]

His style is too cautious now, boring and lame.

 

[Question]

So, if I understand you correctly, no one should be able to criticize "a popular fighter" ... without getting banned?

Is that what you're saying?

Because, yeah, since getting KO's by Israel Adesanya, I hereby do criticize Robert Whittaker's body of work.

He doesn't have the same pizzazz.
He only fights "safety first."

Israel took something from him.

Is this opinion really a "bannable" offense?
Because I say this as a (former) Whittaker fan.

I don't always have to flagellate popular fighters.

It really is okay to criticize popular fighters too, if there is evidence to back it up.

Why don't you actually go watch, Whittaker x Adesanya I ...
and then go watch Whittaker x Adesanya II ... (both fights, from start to finish).

The difference in CONFIDENCE is night-and-day ...

Please report back to me the difference "you see," honestly.

I don't get this, you're praising Whittaker for fighting with a terrible gameplan in the first bout by trying to go all out head hunting against Izzy of all people.
Izzy who's one of the best counter strikers in the sport and made Whittaker pay for playing with fire like that.

Then you criticize Whittaker for adjusting his skills and having a better approach that lead to a close decision in the rematch against his stylistic nightmare. You can't fight Izzy going all out, that shit just won't work and will get you KO'd unless you've got Gastelum's chin.
It just doesn't make sense. Yeah the fight isn't a barnburner, but Whittaker did well enough where some believed he won that fight. I though Izzy got the decision, however I do agree that it was very close.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

I don't get this, you're praising Whittaker for fighting with a terrible gameplan in the first bout by trying to go all out head hunting against Izzy of all people.
Izzy who's one of the best counter strikers in the sport and made Whittaker pay for playing with fire like that..

I loved Whittaker's approach first fight. He just fell short

I also enjoyed watching the first fight much more than the second fight.
You could see the desire to kill in Whittaker's eyes.

I'm a fan, I would pay to watch the first fight again, but not the second fight

Then you criticize Whittaker for adjusting his skills and having a better approach that lead to a close decision in the rematch against his stylistic nightmare. You can't fight Izzy going all out, that shit just won't work and will get you KO'd unless you've got Gastelum's chin.
It just doesn't make sense. Yeah the fight isn't a barnburner, but Whittaker did well enough where some believed he won that fight. I though Izzy got the decision, however I do agree that it was very close.

The second fight was something I wouldn't pay $0.02 to see again. A snooze fest.

Maybe Whittaker "did better" on the cards, but he lost me as a fan.

I've seen hundreds of fights (maybe thousands), since the mid-70s.

The only fights I will watch "again" are barn-burners, fights where two people are authentically trying to kill each other.

You couldn't pay me to see a "tactical fight" where two people are trying to "avoid getting hurt" ....

 

[Question]

I loved Whittaker's approach first fight. He just fell short

I also enjoyed watching the first fight much more than the second fight.
You could see the desire to kill in Whittaker's eyes.

I'm a fan, I would pay to watch the first fight again, but not the second fight

Rob fell short because he fought with a terrible approach.
He had some success early, but Whittaker was overextending and headhunting like crazy. Didn't take long for Izzy to get his reads and catch him with a counter.
Sure a more entertaining fight, however Whittaker doesn't get rewarded for that. He gets sent him with less pay, no belt and less leverage for his next fights(no more PPV points).

The second fight was something I wouldn't pay $0.02 to see again. A snooze fest.

Maybe Whittaker "did better" on the cards, but he lost me as a fan.

I've seen hundreds of fights (maybe thousands), since the mid-70s.

The only fights I will watch "again" are barn-burners, fights where two people are authentically trying to kill each other.

You couldn't pay me to see a "tactical fight" where two people are trying to "avoid getting hurt" ....

So Whittaker is just suppose to get himself KO'd and suffer the consequences just because it's more entertaining? He can't fight Izzy like that, not many people can.
If Whittaker tried to have a war similar to his rematch Romero in every single one of his fights, his brain would be mush by the time he's 35 years old and that shit just ain't worth it.

Anyways all his other recent performances have been him beating his opponents handily and putting a beating on them.
The Cannonier, KG and Vettori fights are prime examples of that. If you can't see those fights as entertaining then that's on you dude, but many would disagree.

 

[pinero]

Word.

Used to be a Whittaker fan, now want to see him lose.

So sick of his "overly-friendly interviews" ... I want to see a killer, trying to kill, when I pay $89 for a PPP event.

I wouldn't give two squirts of piss to see "a friendly exchange" between peers ... followed by "a hug" after a non-combative sparring match.

You sound dumber with every post, please stop now and avoid more embarrassment.

 

[Adamant__]

Maybe. Maybe not.

But he sounds and looks really tough in interviews despite being a nice guy, so TS likes him more.

You also forgot to italicize and bold your font with green. Do you know what type of thread we're in?!

I cannot... take your post seriously now.

<45><45>

 

[yougetKTFO]

Once your style has been on tape for several years it's easier for coaches and fighters to gameplan around tendencies. Whittaker has been slightly more gun shy but honestly he's almost the exact same fighter in terms of the way he attacks.

 

[John makfresshi]

That guy got rocked hard

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

Rob fell short because he fought with a terrible approach.
He had some success early, but Whittaker was overextending and headhunting like crazy. Didn't take long for Izzy to get his reads and catch him with a counter.
Sure a more entertaining fight, however Whittaker doesn't get rewarded for that. He gets sent him with less pay, no belt and less leverage for his next fights(no more PPV points).

Whittaker does get rewarded: he has fans that want to see him fight again.
Based on his last performances, I personally wouldn't pay $0.02 to watch Whittaker fight again, if he was the only draw.

So Whittaker is just suppose to get himself KO'd and suffer the consequences just because it's more entertaining? He can't fight Izzy like that, not many people can.
If Whittaker tried to have a war similar to his rematch Romero in every single one of his fights, his brain would be mush by the time he's 35 years old and that shit just ain't worth it.

Don't care about Whittaker's brain; only what I want to see as a fight fan

If Whittaker "cared about his brain," he wouldn't have opted to be a fighter.

I'm the customer; I'm the one who decides whether to pay money (or not), based on what I believe I am going to see in an upcoming fight.

I wouldn't pay a penny to see "a defensive fighter protect himself" ...

The Cannonier, KG and Vettori fights are prime examples of that. If you can't see those fights as entertaining then that's on you dude, but many would disagree.

It's okay that "many disagree" ... but I sincerely doubt ANYONE would watch those boring fights again ...

Conversely, there are many EPIC FIGHTS, I have watched 7-10x again, as a fan, because of the utter gameness BOTH fighters showed in those fights.

Not seeing this kind of intensity in Whittaker ... anymore.

 

[ChimRichalds]

Let's cut to the chase, Whittaker used to be a fighter, now he's a point fighter.

Adesanya basically castrated Whittaker.

If we look at the "UFC only" stats, realize this:

• Before Adesanya, in the UFC, Whittaker had 13 UFC Fights (11 Wins, 2 Losses, 5 KOs) - 1 loss by KO

Since being brutally KO'd / exposed by Adesanya,

• After Adesanya, in the UFC, Whittaker has had 5 UFC Fights (4 Wins, 1 Loss, 0 KOs) - no further KO losses.

Anyone who watches the first Adesanya fight, compared to the second Adesanya fight, can see Whittaker is 100x more cautious since being annihilated.

His style is too cautious now, boring and lame.
He completely let Cannonier off the hook.

Yeah, I am a "Bobby Knuckles" fan, or at least I was — but I am actually hoping du Plessis embarrasses Whittaker and sends him back into retirement.

I don't want to watch ANY ONE fight "not to lose" ... will not pay money for this ... Including those people who used to be my favorites.

Yeah, it's only their careers on the line. Why care about winning, when you can appease a few finish-obsessed fans, and lose a shitload of money and brain cells in the process.

If you can't enjoy watching a technician like Bobby fight, you might be watching the wrong sport, sherbro.

 

[ChimRichalds]

Reconcile This:

Whittaker = NO FINISH since ... HE has been Finished ....

My mistake ... or ... could I have accurately revealed Whittaker's testicular retraction, since his Adesanya KO?

Watch Whittaker x Adesanya I; then
Watch Whittaker x Adesanya II; then

Report back to me ...

My report is, that he got laid the fuck out in the first fight, and in many peoples eyes, won the second fight.

Man, that's some real regression.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

My report is, that he got laid the fuck out in the first fight, and in many peoples eyes, won the second fight.

Man, that's some real regression.

I couldn't even watch the FULL second fight, could you?

I did watch the first fight, many times.

 

[Russ82]

Fighters should do whatever it takes to win. Fans will find a way to hate on you no matter how exciting or boring you are

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

Fighters should do whatever it takes to win. Fans will find a way to hate on you no matter how exciting or boring you are

Not so.

I watched every single one of Alex Pereira's UFC fights, multiple times.

Reason being? He's always trying to finish.

By contrast, there are many recent Robert Whittaker fights that no one could "pay me" to watch the full fight again.

Reason being? He's always "trying not to lose" ...

 

[ChimRichalds]

I couldn't even watch the FULL second fight, could you?

I did watch the first fight, many times.

Yes, I've watched it 3 times probably. A finish is cool, but I couldn't care less if it materializes. I'll take a tactical, skilled fight over a sloppy slugfest any day of the week.

Bobby is a brilliant fighter, one of the best to ever do it at MW, and I've never once not enjoyed a fight of his.

 

[Pilo]

Goddamn is that Power Slap shit beyond dumb.

 

[BowserJr]

Let's cut to the chase, Whittaker used to be a fighter, now he's a point fighter.

Adesanya basically castrated Whittaker.

If we look at the "UFC only" stats, realize this:

• Before Adesanya, in the UFC, Whittaker had 13 UFC Fights (11 Wins, 2 Losses, 5 KOs) - 1 loss by KO

Since being brutally KO'd / exposed by Adesanya,

• After Adesanya, in the UFC, Whittaker has had 5 UFC Fights (4 Wins, 1 Loss, 0 KOs) - no further KO losses.

Anyone who watches the first Adesanya fight, compared to the second Adesanya fight, can see Whittaker is 100x more cautious since being annihilated.

His style is too cautious now, boring and lame.
He completely let Cannonier off the hook.

Yeah, I am a "Bobby Knuckles" fan, or at least I was — but I am actually hoping du Plessis embarrasses Whittaker and sends him back into retirement.

I don't want to watch ANY ONE fight "not to lose" ... will not pay money for this ... Including those people who used to be my favorites.

You must love Izzy.

Kelvin made him an even more boring point fighting not to lose fighter.

At least Rob put himself in harms way in order to win via dominant offense rather than dominant defense

 

[Thesnake101]

If Rob finishes Dricus tomorrow OP better get a tattoo of Whittaker's face on his chest.

 

[VinceArch]

If Rob finishes Dricus tomorrow OP better get a tattoo of Whittaker's face on his chest.

I vote e-suicide.

 

[Thesnake101]

I vote e-suicide.

It can come after the walk of shame imo.