Whittaker confirms he wants Izzy next, March/April

[is a]

Whittaker walks around at 225lbs. He wrestled at 213lbs and that's his fight shape. He's a big guy

Didn't know he was that big. No wonder he had a difficult time trying to make it at 170 considering that's how much Rashad weighs walk-around.

He looked quite a bit smaller than Costa who weighs like 213 fight night but it turns out his half Maori genetics mean his bones are denser and he's probably a thick dude in general.

 

[milenss]

It's a travesty.
If Adesanya wins he must return to MW and defend against Whittaker.
How the fook does Whittake gets title shot at a higher weigth class that he never fought in??
mind boggling.

 

[NurmaGOATedov]

Very awkward interview, to be honest I don't really think Rob wants to fight anymore. I think he just wants to be with his family.

 

[louiscyphere]

Is he talking about Izzy here or about himself potentially moving up?

Because personally, i think Whittaker could do very well at 205

Lmao no

 

[GoshiShun17]

The Izzy/Jones fight could be a moot point if Jan pulls the upset.

Not really. Jon is not the champion. That fight could happen anytime at anyweight.

 

[dog y]

Teh Chael was 206 after hydrating for his first fight against Anderson.
Knuckles, B., could surely be above 205 before dieting/cutting.

 

[PeacePipe]

Why would he call out Izzy 3-4 months from now when Izzy has an unscheduled bout ahead? Rob should be calling out someone like Costa for March. Izzy will likely fight next in July 2021 after Jan.

No way, he just beat Cannoneir and Till, two contenders.

Costa vs Cannoneir is the fight to make
Whittaker vs Izzy

Winner fight,

losers get pumped

 

[wildchild88]

Rob is my favourite fighter, but he let the opportunity slip..

You have show that you're keen for a title shot, especially someone who beat you already.

Rob came off as indifferent about the title shot, wrong message to send and he paid the price.

 

[MCS]

Too late. These things move along quickly. If Ade beats Jan he'll campaign for the Jones fight. If that happens the MW belt could become vacant...though Izzy already beat the guys who would be contending for it, so could be there won't be MW title fights for a while and he just holds on to it.

 

[LetThemBleed]

You really think UFC will strip him if he were to fight Jones? Theyd book him as a double champ star. Rob has a history of being inactive.

I'd imagine he'd be following Jones up should Jones ever actually fight at HW, and yes in the event he's unable or unwilling to defend the MW belt for the majority if not the entirety of next year they should strip him and let him chase Jones to whatever weight class.

 

[Sad Dad]

Is he talking about Izzy here or about himself potentially moving up?

Because personally, i think Whittaker could do very well at 205

He’s way too small for 205 not even a big 85er

 

[Dave Poodle]

With his kid due early next year he'll probably sit back and see what happens with Izzy vs Jan. If Israel loses or Jones decides to go for the HW instead it could be Rob vs Izzy mid next year. If Izzy vs Jones happens next it will probably be Rob vs someone for an interim/#1 contender.

 

[sampuncher]

I'm happy for Rob to wait a bit. If he rematches Izzy and loses again. Where does he go from there? At least if Izzy moves up he may stay at 205 and Rob can fight for an interim belt or something.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

After his last fight I thought he made it clear he needed time off for the new baby. I have no problem with that. That was the reason Adesanya is moving up. But, it could mean Whittaker loses his TS, or has to fight again before getting one. I think he must realize that.

 

[RockyLockridge]

before fighting Izzy , Whittaker remained inactive for nearly a freaking year and a half.
while izzy has fought eight times in the same timeframe as Whittaker’s two fights.
they should keep him away from the belt as far as possible.

im of this mindset. robert is a good fighter, but i want him no where near a title belt.

 

[Myrddin Wild]

So I guess Dana "twisting his words" is because knuckles doesn't move the needle enough where-as moving up to set the stage for a Jones fight will bust the guage through the top. So why start doing re-matches when Izzy has already cleared out the top of his division. makes sense to me.

Using MMAth... Cannonier beat 4th ranked Hermanson, & Whitaker beat 3rd ranked Cannonier... & Izzy beat Whitaker, so there's no need for him to stick around & fight Hermanson & Cannonier.

He's also beat 2nd ranked Costa & 5th ranked Romero... that's a wrap on the top 5.

 

[theTKDguy]

anyone calling Dana a liar obviously didnt see the scrum.

he directly said he wasnt asking for it.

"im not stoked to fight him... im not thinking about it, he shouldnt think about it... he can go up to light heavyweight..."



DANA SAID HE WANTED THIS FIGHT.

WHITTAKER DIRECTLY SAID HE DID NOT.

Exactly. Dana isn't lying this time

He usually lies tho

 

[Myrddin Wild]

A lot of people here saying that Knuckles has "earned" the right.

I'm looking at he just fought Izzy last year. Okay, he's got 2 wins against top people, but is that really enough to just turn it right back around a year later & do it again? I say he sets up the fight with Costa first & then he can start talking about he 'earned" it. I've seen people have to do a hulluvalot more than 2 wins to "earn" a re-match at a title shot.

I've seen it go quicker too, but then you got knuckles who's talking about he lost his mojo last year, & even saying outright that Izzy can move to LHW & it's fine with him... & so the casuals that turn the dial up & buy PPV's got dis-interested. The casualz will surely be interested in Izzy getting a 2nd title & through the roof with a jones fight. So let it play out & fight Costa in the meantime.

 

[Jolly Rancha]

Lol at Rob

Its his own damn fault, when he made those lackadaisical comments about the rematch I legit was like wtf is this guy doing. It really gave the impression that he didn’t want the rematch, and im sure Dana was thinking same thing. People that get embarrassed like he did are screaming out for a rematch. To be so casual about it was so weird, its his own fault they passed him up

Exactly. That was on Rob. His body language hardly inspired confidence. How are you so laissez faire about a dude that knocked you spark out Round 2. Izzy rightfully changed course.

If I'm Rob I'm rooting for Jan to hand Izzy a humiliating loss so he comes back to 185 with his tail between his legs. That's all he can do at this point because if he beats Jan you already know Jones is next

 

[Jolly Rancha]

Whittaker walks around at 225lbs. He wrestled at 213lbs and that's his fight shape. He's a big guy

225? I have a hard time believing that