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“Did I Lose the Spark For Fighting?”- Robert Whittaker Opens Up About His Time Away

Published 04/29/2020, 5:42 PM EDT

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UFC Middleweight Robert Whittaker recently featured on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show to expand on his unforeseen absence from the octagon. The sacrifices that Whittaker has made to reach the top of the division have had a detrimental impact on the fighter’s life.

Whittaker claims that the unending training that the Australian fighter put himself through, helped him gain glory and fame. However, it is the main reason as to why he suffered from depression and felt burnt out. 

“Everybody’s been there. You just reach a point when you get tired and you don’t have that thing in there that makes you push and take that one extra step. And I know what that is. I think all good fighters know what that is,” The Reaper explains that what happened to him, is not an isolated event. It happens to almost every good fighter at some point in their career.

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“I had to take a step back and look at everything I’m doing. If this is what I want to do. Did I lose the spark for fighting or is there another reason? And after having a holiday and unwinding, spending time with kids. I realized it wasn’t a lack of a fight. I just needed to change a couple of things,” Robert Whittaker explains that he just wanted to take a break and spend some time with his family.

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Whittaker adds that the fighter was feeling burnt out. Which is natural considering that the fighter spent seven days in a week training in the gym. And the best way to recuperate from mental and physical exhaustion is by spending time with your family and loved ones. 

“I was feeling burnt out. I told the team ‘I’ll be back when I’m back’,” Whittaker told his team and coach.

Robert Whittaker Lays Rumors About His Children’s Health to Rest

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The 29-year-old fighter’s leave of absence and subsequent withdrawal from a fight against Jared Cannonier birthed rumors that the fighter had donated bone marrow to his daughter. 

“When I went on break, I went off all socials. I went under the radar properly. I didn’t find out about the weird rumors until my mother in law saw it on the news. And then I jumped on it. I put that post up, ‘Don’t believe in the rumors. We good.’ And then went back off it,” Whittaker explains why it took him so long to lay the rumors to rest. 

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Many feel Whittaker took time off from the sport is only because of his loss to Israel Adesanya. However, Whittaker feels that even if he had bagged a win against Adesanya, he would have needed to take a break eventually, if not at that time. 

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“Honestly, I think it would have been like putting a band-aid on a knife wound. I think it would have happened. But the fallout would have been bigger. The loss forced me to confront all of this. Whereas if I had won I would have just closed my eyes and gone through it,” said Whittaker as he explains that his win would have compelled him to push through what he was feeling.

Do you think Whittaker is making an excuse?

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Written by:

Vinayak

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