Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White has heard that Robert Whittaker dislikes public relations, but “The Reaper” denies it.
Whittaker is set to defend his UFC middleweight title on Feb. 9 in the main event of UFC 234. The challenger will be Kelvin Gastelum. The event will take place inside the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
Robert Whittaker Reacts to Dana White’s Recent Comments
White recently took a trip to Melbourne to promote UFC 234. He told The Daily Telegraph that he has word that Whittaker isn’t exactly clamoring to do PR obligations:
“Which seems ridiculous, that we’re still talking about Rob becoming mainstream in his own country. But from what I hear from my people here, Rob doesn’t love doing PR.”
During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, the middleweight champion responded to the claim (via MMAMania.com):
“Someone told Dana White that I don’t do PR or I’m not easy to work with and that’s bullsh*t. I’ve done every PR and every media event they’ve put up to me. The big thing is, though, they get the sh*ts when I say, ‘Sorry, I can’t make it, I have training at this time.’ What do you want me to do? Do you want me to fight or do you want me to do this? Work around me a little bit. It was just a miscommunication and that’s all.”
Israel Adesanya will be on the UFC 234 card as well. He’s scheduled to take on future UFC Hall of Famer Anderson Silva. Adesanya claims he was called upon to be an emergency replacement opponent, but he declined.
Do you think someone really told Dana White that Robert Whittaker doesn’t like media obligations, or is he just stirring the pot?
