Robert Whittaker on Loss to DDP: "This is the Wakeup Call I Needed.".

[Xoleth]

I am still surprised that he lost to DDP.
Seriously, I just don't understand it.
DDP striking seems so bad.
Fuck those boxing fundamentals, just go to South Africa and train!

 

[Chart69r]

I love Bob but in hindsight he was so complacent being number 2.. hehasn't had a finish in almost 7 years
.and during that time, he got knocked out viciously twice

Look at the guys he beat but didn't finish in that time.

Gastelum - granite chin
Vettori - Granite Chin
Romero - granite chin
Cannonier - granite chin

Even Till has never been KO'd at middleweight.

And he hit those first 4 with multiple shots that would put a slightly less durable MW away I reckon.

 

[Chart69r]

I am still surprised that he lost to DDP.
Seriously, I just don't understand it.
DDP striking seems so bad.
Fuck those boxing fundamentals, just go to South Africa and train!

DDP must be the absolute poster boy for unorthodox. It looks so weird and unskilled. But you don't take out the guys he has with just luck. There's something about him that is just effective.

And the DDP that showed up on that night - patient, measured and powerful - that's a dangerous dude.

 

[Substance Abuse]

Look at the guys he beat but didn't finish in that time.

Gastelum - granite chin
Vettori - Granite Chin
Romero - granite chin
Cannonier - granite chin

Even Till has never been KO'd at middleweight.

And he hit those first 4 with multiple shots that would put a slightly less durable MW away I reckon.

The guys he fought had been in 120 fights and been finished by strikes six times. Two of them never by strikes and two of the remaining four have never been stopped at Middleweight. Complacency isn't why he didn't finish them.

 

[StewDogg11]

He was able to hold his own against Romero wrestling though. I think with a few adjustments he wouldn't be so easy to takedown.
DDP did his homework, took advantage of the fact Whittaker gets his hips as far away from his opponent as possible when grappling and hit the throw on a man who was too worried about getting his hips in position to defend a traditional shot or trip.

That was also over 5 years ago and Romero has never been a great MMA wrestler (Chael Sonnen once did a breakdown on why; has something to do with the Cuban wrestling style). du Plessis’ defense looked great in that fight and I figure he’d be a huge favorite in the rematch.

 

[LittleSmokey]

Warrior

 

[ThePatriot]

Didnt he lose to yoel and costa?

 

[Luthien]

Good to hear

 

[Dana's Conscience]

Rob's chin is a problem

 

[LetThemBleed]

Didnt he lose to yoel and costa?

Whittaker? No he beat Yoel twice, albeit one of those fights was v close. Never fought Costa. Costa ducked him hard.

 

[jooohnmatrix]

Think it’s time he retired. Let’s be honest he was never that good anyway.

 

[DoubleTrouble]

I still think ROb could beat DDP 9/10 times. He got caught slacking and didn't look his usual self. Defo got another title run in him because MW is weak.

 

[Brit_Brawler]

Huge whittaker fan but imo, he was just figured out and beaten by a great game plan and a very good fighter. He showed up just fine and was looking like the same guy who beat everyone else.

I saw nothing he would do differently. He fights the exact same way for every opponent.

Ddp has been a fan of rob and studying him for years.

I do believe rob isn't lying though, at least not deliberately. It's what he believes.
These fighters have coping mechanisms to protect the ego. It's why we see guys like chuck " just getting caught "over and over etc. Not many can admit that they have either a) past their prime
Or b) were just beaten by a better fighter.

I'm not saying rob couldn't win a rematch at all. He could make adjustments. Its just that he showed up perfectly that time and was figured out. He needs to do something different

 

[Dr Fong]

The guys he fought had been in 120 fights and been finished by strikes six times. One of them never by strikes and two have never been stopped at Middleweight. Complacency isn't why he didn't finish them.

*Two of them have never been stopped by strikes. Gastelum and Vettori would both be in my top 3 for non-HW chins alongside Holloway.

 

[Xoleth]

DDP must be the absolute poster boy for unorthodox. It looks so weird and unskilled. But you don't take out the guys he has with just luck. There's something about him that is just effective.

And the DDP that showed up on that night - patient, measured and powerful - that's a dangerous dude.

The best striker he fought until Rob was 1-4 Till.
And he beat Till using grappling, if I remember right.
Brunson also has bad striking, so I wasn't surprised that DDP won, especially since his grappling is solid.

But Rob seemed just a much better striker: faster punches, footwork, better fight IQ, top cardio, much more technical... you name it.
He gave Israel a close fight, he beat other good strikers.

Good for DDP, though, great win!

I do believe rob isn't lying though, at least not deliberately. It's what he believes.
These fighters have coping mechanisms to protect the ego. It's why we see guys like chuck " just getting caught "over and over etc. Not many can admit that they have either a) past their prime
Or b) were just beaten by a better fighter

Mostly all fighters use the "I got caught"
Or "He was the better fighter THIS EVENING, it is what it is" - which can mean "I am still the better fighter, but he had a BETTER EVENING"

 

[HaulParris]

Good luck Bobby Knuckles!

 

[fizzlehiss]

Delusional. He was simply not good enough. He showcased all his typical tools and go-tos, but they were smartly defended and his grappling overpowered.

 

[RockyLockridge]

He did come back even better after the Adesanya loss so as of now I choose to believe him.

But he's long in the game and his kids are seemingly reaching that crucial age where they could be a big distraction. Don't think Rob takes damage the same either anymore. The Rob today would not survive through the Romero wars if he took the same amount of damage.

Still, war Rob, and I'm definitely picking him to win his next out.

imo, i think after the romero fights his chin was gone.

I have alway said that I do not like the way robert reacts to being hit. If you hit him clean he wobbles or stumbles. I think he can be a top 10 guy going forward but it's more likely his time is up

 

[don't ask]

Speaking Thursday on his YouTube show, the former UFC middleweight champion

I have no memory of him being champion so I went googling and found this:

UFC Middleweight Champion
Whittaker fought for the interim middleweight title against Yoel Romero on 8 July 2017 at UFC 213, after Michael Bisping announced a nagging knee injury which would go on to keep him on the sidelines for several months.[59] Whittaker won by unanimous decision, and became the first Australian and first New Zealand born fighter to hold a UFC title.[12][60] This win earned him the Fight of the Night bonus award.[61] He missed the remainder of 2017, as he was recovering from a medial knee injury to his left leg.[62]

On 7 December 2017, then middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre vacated the title after being diagnosed with colitis.[63] As a result, Whittaker was promoted to undisputed champion.[64] He was slated for his first title defence at UFC 221 against former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold on 10 February 2018 at Perth Arena in Australia.[65][66] On 13 January 2018, it was reported that Whittaker had pulled out of the event due to an undisclosed injury and would be replaced by Yoel Romero for the interim middleweight championship. The winner of this bout would then face Whittaker in a unification bout.[67] On 20 January 2018, Dana White confirmed that Whittaker was in a serious condition after he was not properly treated from a staph infection in his stomach.[68]

A rematch with Romero took place on 9 June 2018 at UFC 225.[69] At the weigh-ins, Romero missed weight, coming in at 186 lbs, 1 pound over the middleweight limit for a title fight. Romero was given additional time to make weight, but he weighed in at 185.2 lbs, 0.2 lbs over the title fight limit. Romero was fined 20% of his fight purse and the fight was contested as a non-title catchweight bout.[70][71] Whittaker won the fight by a close split decision. Their fight was awarded with 'Fight of The Night' honours. As Romero had failed to make weight, Whittaker received a $100,000 bonus, which would normally have been shared by both fighters.[72]

In July 2018, the UFC announced that Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum had been selected as coaches for Ultimate Fighter 28.[73] On 2 November 2018, it was announced that Whittaker's next middleweight title defence would be against Kelvin Gastelum, in February at UFC 234.[74] However, Whittaker pulled out of the event a few hours beforehand after he was forced to undergo emergency dual surgery immediately, due to an abdominal hernia of the intestine and a twisted and collapsed bowel.[75]

Whittaker faced interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya on 6 October 2019 at UFC 243.[76] He lost the bout and the championship via second-round knockout.[77]

That's a hell of a merry-go-round.

 

[Bowel-forged Stool]

@Substance Abuse
Yo bro, I got Porier’s hot sauce in and gotta say the maple one is wicked good. Thanks for the recommendation