Robert Whittaker praises move to light heavyweight, rules out going back to middleweight
The former UFC middleweight champion says moving up to 205 pounds has revitalized his career and convinced him never to return to his old division.
After more than a decade fighting at middleweight, Robert Whittaker will make his light heavyweight debut when he faces Nikita Krylov this Saturday at UFC 329. A former UFC Middleweight Champion, the Australian has no plans of ever returning to his old division.
As a matter of fact, moving up to light heavyweight is what has revitalized "The Reaper" and given him renewed motivation to continue competing in MMA.
Robert Whittaker Not Going Back to Middleweight
The final weight cuts of Whittaker's middleweight career had become a nightmare for the Australian, who has made it clear he will never fight at 185 pounds again. Speaking during UFC 329 media day, the former champion explained that he simply wasn't enjoying training camps anymore, which ultimately led him to move up a division.
"A big prompt into why I made so many changes is that I didn't enjoy the last couple of camps and the last couple of fights and things had to change otherwise I wasn't going to continue," Robert Whittaker explained. "So I made the changes. I moved to light heavyweight. (...) Normally by this period I'm hungry, I'm water loading, I'm just longing to go home, I'm missing my wife and kids. I guess I was just counting down the days until it's over, where I feel fighting requires such a higher degree of focus and attention that you can't be looking past it."
Robert Whittaker's Renewed Love for Fighting
At 35 years old, Whittaker isn't planning on fighting for many more years. Without the move to light heavyweight, he believes he would have retired much sooner. According to the Australian, competing at 205 pounds has completely changed the way he approaches training camps and rediscovered his enjoyment of the sport.
"The middleweight Rob Whittaker chapter has closed. I'm very happy as a light heavyweight," Robert Whittaker claimed. "It is honestly life-changing. I recommend it to anybody. (...) I still do have to cut weight, it's just not as brutal. It's not as bad. I was able to fuel myself much more during the camp. Recovery was much higher. My moods were better. Everything was just better for it."
Moving up to light heavyweight has revitalized the Australian and allowed him to keep on grinding for the final chapter of his career.
"Let's be honest, I don't want to be fighting for another five years by any means, I've got other things I want to do," Whittaker said. "I want to play Masters soccer, things like that. But I definitely have a few more in me now because the way I was feeling after the last couple of fights, the camps, how drained I was for them, how much of a grind it was, dragging my feet to get to everything. Comparatively, I definitely have a new love and lease on the game."
Can Robert Whittaker Make a Fresh Start?
Now, Whittaker hopes his fresh start at light heavyweight will mark the beginning of a new chapter in his career. A victory over Krylov at UFC 329 would immediately strengthen his position in one of the UFC's deepest divisions while confirming that his decision to move up was the right one.
