Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is in a strange position. He’s observably better than all other contenders in the 185-pound division, but he’s lost to the champ, Israel Adesanya, twice. To earn a trilogy fight, Whittaker would need to string together another series of wins, potentially over opponents he has already fought. With that in mind, the Australian middleweight is considering a move up to light heavyweight, as he revealed to Submission Radio.
“I’ve been thinking about 205 a fair bit. The problem is, I wouldn’t go to 205 to come back down to 185. Just because I don’t want to go to 205 as a fat 185, right? You see a lot of guys try that and they just get starched. And then they come back down. It doesn’t make sense.”
Is Robert Whittaker About To Change Divisions?
It wouldn’t be Robert Whittaker’s first move out of a weight class. He made his UFC debut as a welterweight before packing on muscle and moving up fifteen pounds to middleweight. Whittaker has no qualms about putting the weight on, but he is aware that, at six feet tall, concedes a height disadvantage to many light heavyweights. Champion Jiri Prochazka, for example, stands six feet and three inches tall.
“So when I moved up to 185 the first time, there was no way, like I would never go back down to 170. Could never. Got to put on muscle, you have to train at that weight. Got to do all of the bits and bobs then and there.
I think it will be a more natural weight for me, personally, but the height disadvantage is annoying. I don’t know if I would want to deal with that.”
At 31 years old, Robert Whittaker will soon enter the twilight years of his fighting career. If he moves up to 205 pounds, the Australian fighter will have to stay there, and potentially retire in the light heavyweight division.
“Once I make the decision to go up to 205, I’m there. That’ll be my division. I’d finish my career there, for better or worse. I’m doing really well at 185. … I’m definitely one of the most dangerous guys in the division.”
If that’s the case, Robert Whittaker may never get the chance to reclaim the UFC middleweight belt. Considering Israel Adesanya’s self-proclaimed plan to move into the light heavyweight division, however, fans may still see the trilogy fight between two of the greatest middleweights of the modern era.
Should Robert Whittaker move to light heavyweight? Let us know in the comments.
