Whittaker is a great fighter, but difficult to me to highlight something about him

[Metallicalabran]

He is at the top, truly high level fighter and a very likable person, I am not triying to bash him, just saying he is so well rounded that nothing in his arsenal/skillset truly shines trought. Something similar happened to me with Chris Weidman, I know he is high level, but was so well rounded that nothing really blows my mind or stand out.

Conor: So unpredictable, amazing counter atack, left hand
Cormier: Superb wrestling, fast and heavy hands, great chin
Woodley: Strong wrestling and TDD, explosive heavy hands
Werdum: Jiu jitsu god, nice muay thai, crafty
Yoel Romero: Incredible athleticism, Olympic level wrestling, KO power on 1 hand (or 1 knee)
TJ: Well rounded, amazing footwork and technically gifted
and so on... but Whittaker?

I can go on with most of the UFC fighters, everyone or almost everyone has some things you can highlight on the way they fight, but with Whittaker is very difficult to me, I know he has great wrestling and TDD, very good boxing too, the guy can kick, but, I dont know, nothing really stand out for me about his way of fighting (And most of the the champions always has something very superior or amazing compared to the opponents on their skillset, thats why they are champions most of the time)

I love the guy, very likable, but maybe some of you can help me:

What really stand out on Robert Whittaker skillset that I am failing to see ???

 

[The Big E Train]

You are crazy if you think his take down defense doesn't stand out.

It is probably the best in ufc.

 

[Dozer .]

You are crazy if you think his take down defense doesn't stand out.

It is probably the best in ufc.

Jose Aldo

Whittaker is a monster tho and he does stand out unlike the overrated Chris

 

[Arm Barbarian]

I can highlight for you TS.

Good overall striking arsenal, good TDD.

 

[Moral Victory]

Great fight IQ, perfect balance of aggression and defense.


What defines him for me is that he's not afraid and he always knows what to do, he does not switch between being aggressive and defensive like other fighters, it's a constant flowy mix.

He is also honest and realistic when assessing his opponents and their ability, humble, which is a sort of rare strength in this game, few fighters say they have a 50% chance of winning, lol.

 

[Metallicalabran]

Jose Aldo

Whittaker is a monster tho and he does stand out unlike the overrated Chris

him as a fighter of course stand out, I am talking about his skillset

he has great takedown defense, thats okay, but I dont know

Jose Aldo had that, but had those low kicks too, and was very agresive.

Whittaker has great takedown defense, ok, but he is just very well rounded I think. There is not an specific skill in him, that you can easily highlight (speed, athleticism, KO power, defense, footwork, kicks, cardio, chin...)

 

[Frankie Baby!]

Killer instinct, Speed, Power, TDD, Rear Head Kick, Hair Line, Accent.

 

[Metallicalabran]

Great fight IQ, perfect balance of aggression and defense

fair enough, like I said, not something you can easily spot or highlight in a fighter

I know Whitakker is something special, I am just failing to see it (not savvy enough probably, my fault)(I am being honest not sarcastic)

 

[Metallicalabran]

Killer instinct, Speed, Power, TDD, Rear Head Kick, Hair Line, Accent.

when talking about killer instinct, in the whole UFC roster, you think about Robert? speed? power? dont think so... (and about kicks, he is effecive but there are amazing kickers on the UFC, Robert is not even close to be on that group)

I know he is very good at that, but not even close to the best in UFC in any of that you mentioned (maybe TDD, but Jose was incredible at that, GSP and his balance was much more spottable too in that subject)

 

[Frankie Baby!]

when talking about killer instinct, in the whole UFC roster, you think about Robert? speed? power? dont think so...

I know he is very good at that, but not even close to the best in UFC in any of that you mentioned (maybe TDD, but Jose was incredible at that, GSP and his balance was much more incredible too)

I guess he's just very good at everything, but not God level at any certain thing. Good for a Champion, no weaknesses to expose.

 

[3sumrock]

He’s the fastest 185er we’ve ever seen
Amazing blitz
Great in and out movements,he can hit you before you can hit him because of his in and out movements
Great head/body kicks and great boxing.good at setting up his head kicks with his boxing .great 1 2 And other boxing combination
And got power

 

[Metallicalabran]

I guess he's just very good at everything, but not God level at any certain thing. Good for a Champion, no weaknesses to expose.

that's what I think too.

Like I said, not bashing. He is very well rounded, strong at everything not god level at any certain thing. (Something similar to Weidman when he was the champion)

PD (edit): Frankie Edgar was very well rounded too, but you can always highlight his technical boxing, chin and heart.

 

[Frankie Baby!]

that's what I think too.

Like I said, not bashing. He is very well rounded, strong at everything not god level at any certain thing. (Something similar to Weidman when he was the champion)

True, he's obviously more of a striker but has great grappling, Weidman is more of a grappler but has great striking.

 

[2004 account]

I kinda feel the same about Robert. Good guy, well rounded but seems like a jack of all trades. Plus I’d like to see him face adversity from the bottom position on the ground to see how good his Bjj is.

 

[Sano]

Whittaker: Amazing TDD, excellent timing and rhythm (catches guys coming in a lot), bouncy and explosive, great step in right hand, uses same side attacks.

 

[Thaijitsu612]

Ill admit I have under estimated him many times.

 

[Clenny96]

Got the most underrated jab in mma.

 

[Bubblun]

How about having some of the best hands ever in mma.

 

[Kuldar]

Maybe its too early in the morning for me, but perhaps his biggest "standout strength" is that he has none. Makes it pretty hard to gameplan and make reads against.
Which is basically the same as others said, flow, measured agression, calmness, etc etc. Also he IS technically very proficient and has good physical prep as well.
Something like a smooth sphere shaped boulder- tough to climb

 

[xentreos]

His athleticism and hands are what stuck out to me a long time ago. Definitely caught my eye but he did sneak up on me as a title challenger. The ufc is so bad at promoting, Whittaker is an example of this. What ever happened to the ufc hype machine??