Robert Whittaker (fighter)

Background

Whittaker was born in New Zealand and moved to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia when he was only a month old. Whittaker's father enrolled Robert and his brother in Karate for self-discipline and self-defence when he was six years old. After training in the discipline for a little over eight years, and earning his black belt, his father offered him the chance to change to another sport or drop Karate entirely. While his brother decided to drop out, Robert chose to switch to a Hapkido, a gym run by Henry Perez, following his move to Menai New South Wales, Australia. Not long afterwards, Perez transformed his gym into a MMA gym. Having no other choice, Whittaker began training in MMA and was immediately hooked, choosing MMA as his preferred sport over Rugby League. Whittaker was a brick layer prior to becoming a professional MMA fighter.

Whittaker approaches fighting with his actions in the cage and does not engage in trash-talk outside of the octagon. As he puts it:

Early career

In 2009 Whittaker began competing in MMA as a professional. He signed with Australia's Xtreme Fighting Championships and made his debut 14 March 2009 against fellow pro debutant Chris Tallowin. Whittaker won the fight via TKO in the first round. Whittaker then started his career with Cage Fighting Championships, going 6-0 inside the promotion from 2009 to 2011, with a notable win over fellow TUF: Smashes castmate, Ben Alloway.

On 30 October 2011 Whittaker lost his first fight when he travelled to Cotai, Macau for Legend Fighting Championships 6. Whittaker fought Hoon Kim and lost via submission in the first round. Whittaker bounced back from the loss and won two straight before suffering his second loss to Jesse Juarez, bringing his overall record to 9–2.

The Ultimate Fighter

In 2012 Whittaker's coach, Henry Perez, signed him up to first series of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, which pitted a team of eight Australians versus a team of eight men from the United Kingdom, and he was selected as one of cast members of the show.

In his first fight on the show Whittaker fought Luke Newman. Only 19 seconds into the first round Whittaker landed a punch flush on the chin of Newman, knocking him unconscious for several minutes. The win moved him onto the semifinal round. The knockout also earned Whittaker an additional $25,000 for "Knockout of the Season".

In the semifinal, Whittaker was matched against replacement fighter and fellow Team Australia teammate, Xavier Lucas. Whittaker won via knockout at 1:17 in the first round. The win moved Whittaker into the final round of the competition, which would take place live on UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson.

2012

Whittaker made his UFC debut on 15 December 2012 at UFC on FX 6, which was also known as "The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes Finale". He would fight Brad Scott to determine the welterweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes. Whittaker won the fight via unanimous decision to become the first ever winner of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes alongside Norman Parke, who was the lightweight winner of the show.

2013

Whittaker faced Colton Smith on 25 May 2013 at UFC 160. He won the fight by TKO in the third round.

Whittaker faced Court McGee on 28 August 2013 at UFC Fight Night 27. He lost the fight via split decision.

Whittaker was expected to face Brian Melancon on 7 December 2013 at UFC Fight Night 33. However, Melancon pulled out of the bout citing an injury and subsequently retired. As a result, Whittaker was removed from the card as well.

2014

Whittaker faced Stephen Thompson on 22 February 2014 at UFC 170. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. in the three years following his loss to Thompson, Whittaker won 6 fights in a row prior to earn his fight against Yoel Romero. He said in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald:

Whittaker faced Mike Rhodes on 28 June 2014 at UFC Fight Night 43. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Whittaker faced Clint Hester in a middleweight bout on 8 November 2014 at UFC Fight Night 55. He won the exciting back and forth fight via TKO in the second round. The win also earned Whittaker his first Fight of the Night bonus award.

2015

Whittaker faced Brad Tavares on 10 May 2015 at UFC Fight Night 65. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. The win also earned Whittaker his first Performance of the Night bonus award.

Whittaker was expected to face Michael Bisping on 15 November 2015 at UFC 193. However, Bisping pulled out of the fight on 30 September, citing an elbow injury, and was replaced by Uriah Hall. Whittaker defeated Hall by unanimous decision.

2016

Whittaker next faced Rafael Natal on 23 April 2016 at UFC 197. Whittaker won the back and forth fight via unanimous decision.

Whittaker faced Derek Brunson on 27 November 2016 at UFC Fight Night 101. He won the back and forth fight via first-round TKO. The win also earned him the Performance of the Night and the Fight of the Night bonus awards.

2017

Whittaker faced Ronaldo Souza on 15 April 2017 at UFC on Fox 24. He won by second-round TKO. The win also earned Whittaker his third Performance of the Night bonus award.

Interim Middleweight Title Fight

Whittaker fought for the interim middleweight title against Yoel Romero on 8 July 2017 at UFC 213 after Michael Bisping announced a nagging knee injury which will keep him on the sidelines for a few months. Whittaker won by unanimous decision, and became the first Oceanic born fighter to hold a UFC title. He is expected to miss the remainder of 2017 recovering from a medial knee injury to his left leg.

Championships and accomplishments

Personal life

Whittaker has two boys, John and Jack, and is married to Sofia.

Youth clinics for community service

Whittaker held clinics for youths in his spare time at his home gym, Gracie Jiu Jitsu at Seaton Grange, and also visited several remote Australian Indigenous youth communities at inland New South Wales, Australia for community service, hoping to inspire the young generation to take up combat sports by being a good role model to them.