Robert Whittaker has already achieved an incredible career in MMA at 34 years old.
Whittaker has a goal in mind for how he wants to spend his final years in the sport before riding off into the sunset with over 35 fights under his belt.
He’s set to return in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, where Whittaker takes on Reinier de Ridder in a bid to prove that he’s still one of the elite fighters in the division.
Having gone 3-0 since signing with the promotion, ‘The Dutch Knight’ is one of the new faces at 185 pounds who has quickly risen up the ranks.
Whittaker, on the other hand, has faced many setbacks while maintaining his spot as one of the very best, including a war for the ages that he was somehow able to battle through.
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Joe Rogan was left puzzled by the scorecards for Robert Whittaker’s second win over Yoel Romero
At UFC 213, Robert Whittaker came out on top in a gruelling fight with Yoel Romero for the interim middleweight title.
‘The Reaper’ unfortunately missed out on the opportunity to defend his title at home in Australia after being promoted to the undisputed champion.
UFC 221 saw Romero dismantle Luke Rockhold, setting up a rematch with Whittaker that would once again push the champion to the limit.
The first two rounds were incredibly impressive from the defending champ but as is always the case with his opponent, one shot can change everything, and that’s exactly what happened in the third round.
Whittaker came back in the fourth but in the final round, he was dropped again with ‘Soldier of God’ pouring on the pressure to put him away.
Two judges scored the fight in the champion’s favor but what the UFC commentary team, and Joe Rogan in particular took issue with, was that Romero wasn’t awarded a 10-8 round in the third or fifth.
After the fight ended, Rogan made it clear on the broadcast that he was puzzled by the scoring.
“It doesn’t make any sense. That doesn’t make any sense. I don’t understand that… Romero for sure should have had at least one 10-8, no one gave him a 10-8. That doesn’t make any sense… I feel like we saw an amazing fight but I feel like I got screwed. I feel like there’s something missing here. Not that the decision couldn’t possibly have gone to Robert Whittaker but it’s like, that was the score?”
Joe Rogan questioned Robert Whittaker about his thoughts on the result inside the Octagon
During his post-fight interview, Robert Whittaker was questioned by Joe Rogan about how close the fight was and whether he believed that he had done enough.
“Well mate, I was in two minds, I’ll tell you that much. F–, he hits like a truck. I know he looks weak but man, he packs some power. He caught me in the fourth and in the fifth and I was just trying to survive, come back and hurt him on the way in.”
Rogan even asked whether ‘The Reaper’ believed that there would need to be a trilogy fight between them, despite the fact that Yoel Romero was unable to win the title after failing to make weight.
“It could have gone either way,” Whittaker admitted in response to questions about the result. “I hit him a lot. I thought I controlled three of the five rounds but he did drop me in the fourth and the fifth so it was anyone’s guess but it was tight. It was real tight.”