Note: Partial work on this article done by Fernando Quiles Jr.
Robert Whittaker has made his viewpoint on failed weight cuts clear.
On June 9, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title holder Whittaker will defend his gold against Yoel Romero. The bout will headline UFC 225 inside the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. It’ll be the second time these go head-to-head.
“The Reaper” took on the “Soldier of God” back in July 2017. Whittaker walked out of UFC 213 as the interim middleweight champion. He defeated Romero via unanimous decision in a close battle.
During UFC 223, Whittaker spoke to the media during his scrum. When asked if he was surprised that Romero knocked out Luke Rockhold, “The Reaper” said he sensed it would happen:
“As far as I’m concerned I have twenty five minutes to finish this guy … Nobody was surprised Yoel finished Rockhold. I had a feeling from when they touched gloves and after the first round … I’m improved across the board. I’m at the right age and I have the right team around me where I’m constantly on what’s coming next.”
Going into his bout with Luke Rockhold, Romero was set to fight for interim gold. That didn’t happen as Romero missed weight. Instead, the title was only on the line for Rockhold. Obviously Romero won the fight, but couldn’t get a UFC title for the first time in his career.
UFC president Dana White gave Romero a pass because he took the fight on one month’s notice. Whittaker isn’t as forgiving:
“If he misses weight, then I don’t think there will be a fight. If you miss weight, you haven’t done your job. That’s my opinion on MMA and weight cutting, half your job is to make weight. I think my management will deal with the UFC and come up with a solution should that happen.”
MMA News was on the scene throughout UFC 223 fight week. Check out Whittaker’s scrum in its entirety below:
