Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker rarely seems like the kind of guy who gets angry, but Marvin Vettori managed to get under the Australian’s skin. At the ceremonial weigh-ins ahead of their clash at UFC Paris last week, Vettori delivered a schoolyard taunt in the form of a faked handshake. The “grubby” act infuriated Whittaker, who went on to demolish Vettori over the course of three rounds, as he revealed on The MMA Hour.
“Mate, I was filthy. Absolutely filthy. It was just grubby. It was such a grubby thing to do, and I understand where he’s coming from, he just wants to get in my head a little bit, because we’d been so amicable up until then. He was just trying to throw anything out there in the wind to try and ruffle the feathers. We knew he was coming. The coaches knew this was coming. But I want to say it didn’t bother, it bothered me. It really p***** me off.
Whittaker “Absolutely Filthy” Over Vettori Handshake Fake
It’s one thing not shaking hands, I understand that. You keep your hand to yourself, you do you, I’ll do me. It’s another thing tricking me by putting the hand out and suckering me last minute. You don’t do that. I don’t know, it just seems like he broke a solemn rule, you know?”
Whittaker might have been angry, but his rage quickly gave way to laughter, mostly because of Marvin Vettori’s overt earnestness in executing the maneouvre. “I was laughing because it was like ‘90s Kickboxer, he came over all serious and was like, ‘I’m going to thrash you.’
It just made me laugh. … I couldn’t [say anything], I was just laughing. That’s why I smiled. I was just smiling, I found it funny. I have all these conversations, I’m a big thinker. And I’m just thinking, ‘We’re going to fight tomorrow. I’ll see you there.’”
Whittaker dominated the fight, but claimed that Vettori’s antics had nothing to do with his performance. “Not at all. I knew what I was going to do. I think my actions made [Vettori] worry, ruffled his feathers if anything. He wanted a reaction out of me, but I know what I’m about to do. I know what I’m about.
We can be amicable, we can be friends even—not really friends, but we can be really cool. We can be professional. Yeah, we can do the dance, but when the door shuts, when we’re put in the octagon, I change.
The game face is on. I’m fighting now.” What did you think of Marvin Vettori’s fakeout? Let us know in the comments.
