Really hope that Whittaker will not:
- go deep to the politics and try to dictate his views on the whole sport;
- become a fanatic Christian and will bring his pastor to the training team;
- refuse to evolve his game and spar with fighters on his level when needed due to a sheer pride;
- become a mysoginist;
- fight just for a salary, without any competitive fighting spirit
I like Whittaker much more for now.
- He promotes Russia and Russian projects. He is not "deep" in politics. He is just very respected in Russia, because combat sports athletes are like superstars there, so he can reach a large audience and wants to make a positive impact. And be a good role model and representative of his country.
- This I agree, biggest part of his downfall has been having these leaches and yes-man around him that use him for their own good. Russia (and other former Soviet countries) have become more religious since the collapse of the Soviet Union and don't really see this as a positive. Religious groups are just used to control people with fear and keep them dumb.
- Also agree with this, only don't agree that it is because of pride. Otherwise he wouldn't be making trips to Holland for his training camps to train with fighters there. He really wants to develop Russian MMA, and more than anything, he wants to help other Russian fighters grow. That's why surrounds himself with Russian fighters, but this way he never got the chance to continue to develop. I have to say though, Russian MMA has been developing at a crazy pace the last couple of years. A lot of top fighters will appear in the next decade from Russia.
- He doesn't hate women, he has a bunch of daughters for crying out loud. He just doesn't think women should be punching each other in the face, he's an old fashion guy. Lot of people like that.
- Definitely not fighting just for a salary. He lives in Stary Oskol and he kind of owns that town if you know what I mean. He has a lot of influence in that Oblast (region/province). Don't think he is hurting for money at all, just enjoys the competition. He is an extremely competitive person.