A UFC legend has suggested that he has changed his goals for how he wants to end his career.
The UFC’s middleweight division is the most exciting that it has been for a long time.
While it doesn’t look like Khamzat Chimaev will be defending his title this year, there are some big fights coming up that will decide his first challenger.
The main event of UFC Paris, where Nassourdine Imavov faces Caio Borralho, is first up as both men look to position themselves at the front of the pack.
One contender who also could’ve been in the mix has recently spoken openly about why this is no longer the case.
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Robert Whittaker says his motivation has changed after hoping to put together one last title run
Earlier this year, Robert Whittaker laid out his plans for the end of his UFC career.
The former UFC middleweight champion was hoping to compete four more times inside the Octagon, working his way towards the top of the division before hopefully going out in one more title fight.
His latest outing has seemingly led to ‘The Reaper’ going through a fairly significant course correction when it comes to his goals in fighting.
Whittaker was beaten by Reinier de Ridder in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi in July, losing a close split decision which put ‘RDR’ into the title mix.
The 34-year-old was incredibly honest in a recent interview with Submission Radio when talking about his current position and how it has changed.
“The belt’s kind of a pipe dream at the moment after losing to ‘RDR’. It’s another loss, it pushes me back much further than I want to be from the title, to the pathway where I wanted to finish up. So, right now, my goals, my trajectory has kind of changed.
“I’ve worked out I want a few fights left, I want to enjoy the journey. I want to enjoy the fights. I want to enjoy the camp process. I want to enjoy fight week, I want to enjoy the fight itself. I want my family to be a part of that… That’s my biggest goal right now.”
Whittaker did add that there are a lot of opportunities in the middleweight division so while he’s not downing tools by any means, he’s changed his focus to some degree.
“I’m not shutting any doors but I do understand the work I’ve got ahead of me, what my primary goal is. Everything else is just kind of gravy on top of that.”
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Robert Whittaker named his desired comeback after being beaten by Reinier de Ridder
If Robert Whittaker is now focused on enjoying the last few fights of his career rather than targeting the belt, there’s one box that he’ll surely want to tick off.
‘The Reaper’ spoke immediately after his loss to Reinier de Ridder about “longing” for an opportunity to fight in Australia next time out.
“It’s been a while and honestly, I’m longing for it. It’s been a while since I’ve fought in Australia and I’d love to fight here again. It’s time.”
Whittaker hasn’t fought in front of his home fans since UFC 243 in 2019 where he was beaten by Israel Adesanya in their title unification bout.