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Media Robert Whittaker wants Strickland for International Fight Week, considering move to LHW

Too small for LHW
He made WW twice in 6 weeks for TUF Australia
He looked even smaller than Du Plessis, who was a WW not that long ago, and Adesanya, a small MW
 
Not really feeling LHW for him, but the fight with Strickland at MW should happen next, it makes sense, good fight for Whittaker.. I think he beats up Strickland, Whittaker is too dynamic and many different weapons
 
Doctor Grudge said:
Those guys are waaaaaaaaay to far down the card for Whittaker to be fighting.
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This is the problem for old big name guys.

They get paid decent and the UFC ain't gonna fork over a decent check to fight scrubs, so naturally they age to a point where they can't whoop top guys anymore and they are stuck.

Time for the old lion to feed the young lions.
Nobody wants to be a stepping stone, but i remember when Whittaker was given his shot against Jacare.

Whittaker is

0-2 vs Izzy, ko'd 1x
0-1 vs Dricus ko'd
0-1 Khamzat ... dental work
 
I mean... you must be really blind if you don't see that Rob is past his prime.

He is only beating guys that are B-level or lower (Costa has his best days behind him) and I thought Ikram was better than this but apparently he is not. His best showing is... losing to Khamzat.
As for guys above B tier Rob is stepping stone. Prime for Prime he would beat DDP (and I am writing this as big Dricus fan since KSW days) because Stillknocks has so many flaws - especially in defense that Reaper would exploit.
And Khamzat just steamrolled him.
If Rob would fight Strickland next he will lose. Sean is weird fighter. He is not world beater nor elite but has strange style.

Same goes for Israel.
MW's glory days are over. 2 of the best of modern eras MW fighters are done.

Rob at LHW would do exactly like past prime Gus after he went up to HW. So not good.
 
It def makes sense for both of them. Not sure about LHW but its a weaker div and at MW with Khamzat or DDP as champ he's probably not getting back to a title anytime soon. Plus if you're the UFC having Whittaker play that role of beating everyone but the top few guys and knocking back guys coming up like Fluffy or Caio isnt good for the div.
 
jeff7b9 said:
This is the problem for old big name guys.

They get paid decent and the UFC ain't gonna fork over a decent check to fight scrubs, so naturally they age to a point where they can't whoop top guys anymore and they are stuck.

Time for the old lion to feed the young lions.
Nobody wants to be a stepping stone, but i remember when Whittaker was given his shot against Jacare.

Whittaker is

0-2 vs Izzy, ko'd 1x
0-1 vs Dricus ko'd
0-1 Khamzat ... dental work
Click to expand...
Israel...? He nearly beat him the last the they fought and that was a long time ago already.

The other two are literally going to be fighting for the title. How do you go from Khazmat to Kevin Holland? You think there is nothing in between there? Kevin Holland and Meerschaertare are not young lions. G3 is older than Whittaker.


I think you just think Whittaker has been struggling a lot more than he has. He has already beaten guys around the level of fighters youre talking about with ease in recent years. It is nothing like Whittaker fighting Jacare, not even remotely close.

Whittaker fought an unranked fighter last year and ran through him.
 
Doctor Grudge said:
Israel...? He nearly beat him the last the they fought and that was a long time ago already.

The other two are literally going to be fighting for the title. How do you go from Khazmat to Kevin Holland? You think there is nothing in between there? Kevin Holland and Meerschaertare are not young lions. G3 is older than Whittaker.


I think you just think Whittaker has been struggling a lot more than he has. He has already beaten guys around the level of fighters youre talking about with ease in recent years. It is nothing like Whittaker fighting Jacare, not even remotely close.

Whittaker fought an unranked fighter last year and ran through him.
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Who said anything about Kevin Holland?

Whittaker is a big name and well paid.

This leads to him being booked in main event and co main event slots which aren't going to be easy fights.

Looking at the MW top 5, Rob is 0-4 against them with 3 of those 4 losses coming by stoppage.

He is 34 and 3-3 in his last 6. Pretty much alternating wins and losses and being realistic that is likely how it goes at this point in his career. Both his blitz attack and his evasive defense rely on speed which is diminishing in his mid 30s. He is neither a high guard striker or an offensive wrestler. His game is tag and he is getting slower and high in the milage, with a lot of 5 round wars under his belt and a history of relying on his chin to a certain extent which also is something that doesn't age well.

He is unlikely to get a significant step down in competition, due to his name value and pay rate.

Gatekeeper to the top 5 is where Rob is at this point... for as long as he can maintain that. He is fortunate that his division tends to be old and currently isn't tremendously deep.
 
In my opinion, Whittaker is still top 10 material and his fight with Khamzat means nothing. But I agree with the general consensus about him unlikely becoming champion again.

I feel like Robert spent a large part of his career focusing on trying to beat Izzy on the score cards. Robert doesn't fight with the same aggression or killer instinct anymore and it's really hurting him. Way too conservative, way too predictable
 
Rob should be fighting Sean and then be sticking to fighting up and comers at MW. His chin is not what it was, he got rocked badly by Costa in their fight not long ago. He most definitely would get brutally finished by a top 5 guy at LHW unfortunately.
 
He pieces up Strickland with ease imo.

Rob at 205 would be very interesting.
 
Elegant said:


How do you guys think Whittaker does against the likes of Jiri, Hill, and Pereira etc?

Whittaker is one of the greatest strikers ever in MMA with elite TDD so I like his chances, he's older now but he'll still have the speed advantage AND technique advantage over these guys so I wouldn't mind it.

I can see him disposing of Strickland with ease, getting a no 1 contender fight at LHW vs someone like the winner of Khalil x Hill or Jiri while Pereira rematches Ankalaev and then getting a title shot

I think he has the style to force Ankalaev into his point fighting game where he excels while Ankalaev goes something like 0/11 for takedowns like he did vs Pereira whose TDD is no where at the level of Whittaker and ends up losing a decision, Pereira however would likely be a difficult matchup for Whittaker


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Whittaker gets stopped by both Poatan and Jiri. I think the Hill fight would be competitive but Whittaker probably loses that too. I think the callout of Strickland is a smart one. Strickland's style has been figured out. He fights the same every time. I also think we've seen the best Stricland we are going to see (Izzy fight). I think Whittaker is on the other side of his career as well but I think Bobby Knuckles has what it takes to beat Strickland. Book it Dana!
 
Caio Borralho is available and still looking for a ranked opponent.
 
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