“I want four more, that’s me. I see the stepping stones needed to do what I want to do. Four fights gets me into that title shot, gets me into a position to finish on top, to have that fairy tale ending.” Coming off a submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev, Robert Whittaker revealed his plans to retire from the sport before squaring off against Reinier de Ridder earlier this year in July. However, his plans didn’t quite play out the way he wanted. 

‘The Reaper’ dropped a split decision loss to de Ridder, marking his first set of back-to-back losses since 2014. Despite the hiccup in his championship dreams before retirement, the 34-year-old didn’t give up. “This isn’t the end of Robert Whittaker,” he said after the loss. “This is just another learning curve, another speed bump… I’m going to just rest… get back on an Australian card.” But getting back in the Octagon doesn’t seem to be priority numero uno. 

Robert Whittaker promotes Netflix’s Physical: Asia

Earlier today, the former UFC middleweight champion hopped on Instagram to drop the official trailer for Netflix’s Physical: Asia. He captioned the post, “No mercy. No surrender. The battle of flags begins. Physical: Asia is coming October 28, only on Netflix.”

For those unfamiliar, Physical: Asia marks the third installment in Netflix’s wildly popular Korean reality competition franchise Physical: 100, which first debuted in 2023 and quickly became a global sensation thanks to its intense tests of human endurance and strength.

This time, however, the show takes things up a notch. Physical: Asia transforms the familiar format into a nation-versus-nation showdown, featuring 48 contestants representing eight countries—Korea, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, Mongolia, Turkey, and Indonesia—all competing to bring glory to their flag.

Notable participants joining Robert Whittaker include UFC veteran Dong Hyun Kim, Yushin Okami, boxing’s only eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, and Muay Thai legend Superbon Singha Mawynn, among others. Following Whittaker’s post, fans flooded the comment section, expressing their excitement for the upcoming international battle of strength.

Whittaker is on a side quest, says fans

People may have been expecting Whittaker to make a comeback to the Octagon, but they weren’t unhappy about his current endeavors either. One user branded Whittaker’s appearance on the show legendary. “Legend doing legend things,” the user commented.

Meanwhile, this user joked he was on a side quest. “Unc is doing sidequests,” the user commented. Well, if he is getting paid, why not? And this would not be the first time he did something unexpected. Remember the Hulk Hogan cosplay after Endeavor announced their acquisition of WWE?

Another user questioned how Australia became part of the Asia-based competition. “Great one! Australians temporarily become Asians,” the user wrote. Jokes aside, that’s a very relevant doubt. The showrunners may have made this decision to attract more attention from Western audiences.

The next user felt that all athletes in the show are past their prime. “Casting was all athletes past their prime 😂😩😩😩,” the user commented. While the likes of Pacquiao and Whittaker are participating, they are likely team captains; details about the rest of the team are yet to come. 

Someone else felt that Whittaker would be enough to defeat everyone else. “Whittaker alone will slaughter everyone,” the user remarked. Well, viewers can find that out when the show begins later this month. 

Having said that, most people seem eager for the New Zealander’s show, but can he dominate as he once did in the UFC? Or will the show follow his current run in the UFC?