Former UFC Middleweight Champion and current top-ranked contender Robert Whittaker has spent a while away from fighting. He attributed this to a lack of hunger which has been solved by his break. Now he is ready to go and seems to be in the right frame of mind ahead of Saturday’s Fight Island main event.
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‘The Reaper’ detailed what got him back to training for a fight. In a chat with the media, via MMA Junkie, he said, “It’s kinda like a craving, cause I was keeping myself away from the gyms. Like I said when I left the game, I didn’t leave the game.”
Whittaker attributes the lack of fighting serving as craving which in turn served as the catalyst to get him back. He reasons that it was a realization of his purpose on earth.
He said, “It started off like a craving, just started getting worse and worse and worse and then there reached a point where I was like, Nah! I have to get back to work. This is what I was meant to do, this is what I was put on this planet to do. I’m sure of it.”
Robert Whittaker says open dialogue in communication worked wonders
The fighter revealed that he spoke to his team and shared what bothered him. He says open communication helped all involved greatly.
“Then I started speaking to the team and telling them how I feel, the problems that I had that led me here in the first place. Just that open dialogue in communication, we worked out the best system, and here I am, happy as Larry.”
At this point, the media questioned Whittaker whether he will draw on his experiences in the past to avoid this ever happening to him again. Once more the fighter sang the praises of open communication.
He said, “Honestly, the open dialogue and the open communication is just massive. Tell them how I’m feeling and I get feedback. Like I’m not feeling this session or why am I not feeling this session. Like just to talk like that is massive. It’s massive, it’s done wonders for me.”
As the Middleweight Title fight draws closer, divisional contenders will want to stake their claim for the next shot against Israel Adesanya or Paulo Costa. A win for ‘The Reaper’ should solidify his status as the next challenger. However, if ‘The Gorilla’ were to claim a victory he would propel himself into the mix in a big way.
Read: “I’m One Of The Best In The World”- Robert Whittaker
The fight on Fight Island has huge implications for the 185 lbs division and is set to be an absolute cracker. Who do you see picking up the win? Will it be Till who will go 2/2 since returning to Middleweight. Or will it be Whittaker who will win the 10th of his last 11 professional bouts?
