Robert Whittaker weighs up permanent 205 pound move: ‘It will be a more natural weight for me’
Ahead of his UFC Paris return this weekend, former undisputed middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker has once again discussed the possibility of a permanent division climb to 205 pounds to end his career in professional mixed martial arts, despite the prospect of dealing with “tall guys” at the weight limit.
Whittaker, the current #1 ranked middleweight contender, is slated to feature for the second time this year as he looks to retain his status as number one contender, as he takes on Trento native and one-time title challenger, Marvin Vettori.
The Otahuhu-born technician headlined UFC 271 in February this year against two-time opponent and common-foe, Israel Adesanya in an undisputed title rematch, suffering his second career loss to the Kiwi-Nigerian in the form of a unanimous decision loss.
Robert Whittaker remains the #1 ranked contender at middleweight
Prior to his defeat to the City Kickboxing mainstay, Adesanya, Whittaker had managed to land a trio of consecutive victories against Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum.
However, ahead of his French feature against Vettori on Saturday, Robert Whittaker has once again weighed up the possibility of a move to the light heavyweight limit — as he eyes a more “natural weight” at this stage in his UFC stint.
“I’ve been thinking about 205 (pounds) a fair bit,” Robert Whittaker told Submission Radio during a recent interview. “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.”
“When I moved up to 185 the first time, there was no way I would never go back down to 170,” Robert Whittaker explained. “I 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. But I’ve been thinking about 205. 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.”
Initially beginning his Octagon tenure at the welterweight limit, Whittaker experienced success in the division, beating Colton Smith, Mike Rhodes, and Brad Scott – while dropping defeats to both Court McGee, and Stephen Thompson.
Beyond two losses to Adesanya at middleweight, Whittaker has racked up a stunning 11 wins at 185lbs, including successes against Yoel Romero, Jacare Souza, Derek Brunson, Uriah Hall, and Brad Tavares.
