“I’m very proud of my heritage and the blood that runs through my veins. I take a lot of strength from that.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’ve got to give props to my dad. He got me into the UFC and the MMA scene to begin with.”
― Robert Whittaker
“The journey has moulded me into the person I am today. The journey of my mixed martial arts experience has been filled with ups and downs, but through that, I have come out a much better man.”
― Robert Whittaker
“People smarter than me told me that my potential was bigger than just winning a belt. Now I believe that, and that’s what I’m striving for.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Happiness is a key to my success, and my family is a root of that.”
― Robert Whittaker
“My mother’s Maori, and my father’s Australian. I take my strength from both my ancestors, and I’m really privileged.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Although I didn’t spend much time in New Zealand at all, I feel really privileged to have that Maori blood and link to my past. I got my tattoo out of respect to that.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Obviously, that’s the thing any athlete wants to be able to do, to take weaknesses and turn them into strengths.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Everyone knows what crappy food is: high grease, high fat… or what clean eating is. They just make excuses not to do it.”
― Robert Whittaker
“If you don’t make weight, you’re breaching a contract, straight up.”
― Robert Whittaker
“It’s definitely a reason I game so much: to forget about the pressures of fighting and the hardships of training and everything.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’m very objective driven, so for me it’s very important to know who I’m fighting, when I’m fighting, and roughly the direction I’m working in. It gives me that little extra push to do what I need to do to get the sessions, to work towards something.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I don’t try to be someone I’m not.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Everyone thinks Australia and New Zealand MMA fighters don’t have that wrestling base, whereas a lot of Americans and other countries have, with them being able to do wrestling at high-school levels.”
― Robert Whittaker
“My philosophy is fight anyone, anywhere. If you’re going to be the best then you’re going to have to beat them all, so why pick and choose?”
― Robert Whittaker
“I think it’s highly unprofessional to not make weight.”
― Robert Whittaker
“When you ask a guy, ‘Are you gonna take a fight if your opponent doesn’t make weight?’ Is it really asking? Does he really have a choice? When you back them into a corner like that, is there really a choice to be made?”
― Robert Whittaker
“It’s a very funny topic, missing weight and getting title shots. I think the punishments should be more severe, but I don’t know.”
― Robert Whittaker
“As a fan of this sport, I am gutted to see ‘Jacare’ lose. To be matched up against him and to have the honor of fighting him, it blew my mind.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I think everyone has to have their mettle tested in a tough fight.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I don’t think of myself as the champion too often, honestly.”
― Robert Whittaker
“When you get chickenpox as an adult, it’s not a laughing matter.”
― Robert Whittaker
“You know those hard days you go home where you’ve been worked to the bone and you just want to do nothing? In fight prep, every day is that day.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I like eating. I like food.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Who am I to tell people what to do with their own careers and how they’re doing?”
― Robert Whittaker
“I used to get so stressed out before the fight, weeks out, because of how much weight I had to cut to get there.”
― Robert Whittaker
“It’s definitely been a progression, but I always knew I could be a great fighter. I could feel it inside of myself.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I have great striking, really great striking, and I hit very hard.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I have faith in my wrestling, faith in my grappling, and faith in my striking.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I just don’t want to be a champion; I want to be one of the best fighters there ever was.”
― Robert Whittaker
“With the UFC, anything can happen, really.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’m a very objective-driven bloke, so to have a goal in mind and to have something to do is very important to me.”
― Robert Whittaker
“With a guy like Yoel Romero, if he senses weakness, he will capitalize on it every time he can.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Getting back to 100 per cent is one thing, but working at 100 per cent is something else entirely. And given one of my main goals has always been improving my skill set, to do that, I need to be working out at 100 per cent.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’ve never cared who I fight. And that’s something I just say – ‘I’ll fight anyone’ – it’s something I’ve lived up to my whole career. And I’m proud of that.”
― Robert Whittaker
“The UFC are my employers, so they have to come first.”
― Robert Whittaker
“The reason I fight is to provide for my family, and I cannot risk having that taken away.”
― Robert Whittaker
“No fighter wants to risk getting ring rust.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Sometimes, it doesn’t matter if you’re the world champ or not.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Obviously wrestling is a core component of MMA. And among UFC fighters, my take-down defence is considered quite high.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’m definitely driven to go as far as I can.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I don’t pick and choose. I’ve never really had an qualms about who I fight next.”
― Robert Whittaker
“The UFC does what it wants. That’s just how it is.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Michael Bisping versus Georges St-Pierre is a money fight, and the UFC loves money fights.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Michael Bisping’s whole life is a film scene. He’s always acting. Confronting me at UFC 213, it makes me laugh. It’s a bit clownish.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I don’t have any ill will towards any of my opponents. I understand we are the highest calibre of athlete in this sport, and we will both go and give it our all. But I don’t want anyone to misinterpret what I am saying: when we step into that octagon and we touch gloves, I am going to break his face.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Everyone needs an objective, and everyone needs a goal, and it was frustrating just kind of being at a standstill.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I see all my hard fights as title fights. Every time I go in there, I’m fighting for my life.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I want to be known as one of the best fighters ever. I don’t just need a shiny medallion to tell me anything. I want to beat all the top-caliber dudes.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’m very picky with what I read. It’s a specific genre of science fiction.”
― Robert Whittaker
“It’s coffee – if I have just the right amount, I come across as charismatic. One too many, and it’s like I’m having a seizure.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Fighter, father, husband – it’s all the same person. I know the UFC stereotype is that we’re all thugs. But I’d like people to know that I don’t have to switch one off to try to be another. Being a father and a fighter, it’s who I am.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Family are my greatest source of strength. Emotion – they help me deal with that. One look at them, and I know everything is OK.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I train hard; I have the best coaching staff in the world… We always do the right things. I stick to the plan, and we get things done.”
― Robert Whittaker
“If Mayweather wants to come over and fight in the UFC, then do it. It’s hardcore here, though. I don’t think it’ll be a stroll in the park. Granted, he’s the best boxer ever seen, just about.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Fighting is fighting. Family life is family life. I need a distinct barrier between the two. Obviously, my family dictate how I’m feeling and my head space. But work’s work.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Before The Ultimate Fighter, I was appearing before a couple of hundred people at most. Now, I’m on the card of a Las Vegas blockbuster… this is every Australian fighter’s dream.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Every time I step out there in the Octagon, I aim to do Australia proud. And this isn’t for popularity or a fan base; it has never been for that. It’s just because I love my country, and I want to show the world what we’re doing down here.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Fighting on home soil is always a dream come true, and I’d love to unify the title here in Australia.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’m happy to fight anyone. There’s no particular person I want to fight next.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I vigorously train in my jui jitsu and my wrestling, but my stand-up game gives me a huge advantage in defending take-downs.”
― Robert Whittaker
“When I made the UFC, everyone said, ‘You need to go overseas.’ I thought I had to go as well, and I went to Tristar Gym, and I was there for one or two years. But changes were needed. I’d come off back-to-back losses – Court McGee and Stephen Thompson – and I needed to look at my roots and go back to the drawing board.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I started training with Fabricio Itte with my wrestling and high performance; I started spending a lot more time with my head coach Henry Perez and also my grappling coach Alex Prates. Those three are my core team, and they’ve made hugely important changes and skill enhancements with my game.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I hit hard, and I hit fast – much faster than Bisping, much harder than Bisping, and I have much better defence than Bisping.”
― Robert Whittaker
“It’s an absolute honour and privilege to get out there and be an Australian headlining an Australian card. That’s unreal; it really is.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I would love to have a crack at Michael Bisping – with or without the gold, I’d want to have a crack at him because I respect him as a fighter, and he’s a tough dude, and I’d love to swing it out with him.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Do I want everyone in Australia to know who I am? Absolutely. But the only way I can do that is by winning fights.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Put me in with anyone in the top 10, and I win.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’ve been dropped on my head multiple times.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I wouldn’t be in this sport if I didn’t think I could make it to the top.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I was born in New Zealand, and I was raised in Australia, and I’m very proud of that.”
― Robert Whittaker
“That’s the game plan – I’ve got it written down on paper: beat everyone. And that’s what I’m looking forward to doing.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’m hugely into video games; I always have been. I started on the Sega with games like Sonic, Battletoads, and Tetris… all those old-school games.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Having a little boy gave me a foundation and centred my life a bit more.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’m a distance fighter – if you’ve seen me fight, I like ducking in and out.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Court McGee is definitely a name worth fighting – and beating.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I want to fight all the best. I want to be the best fighter in the world. The only way to truly attain that title is by beating everyone.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I never expected to do what I can, but with my coaching staff and my training and coming to terms with my own ability and my own talent and realizing the potential that there is, I’ve decided that I want to make a run for it. I’m training, and I’m fighting for a title.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Moving to middleweight had a massive impact on my training regime and my mental space leading into everyday training. I was training for the fight, not just trying to burn calories and get my weight down. It was a big mental relief there.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I need to take fights, and I expect to win all my fights, whether it’s higher ranked or lower ranked.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Pretty much all my mother’s side is Kiwi, and we have a strong Maori heritage.”
― Robert Whittaker
“It was an absolute honour to fight in Vegas. Every fighter dreams of fighting at the MGM Grand. That’s where so many legends have fought before and so many legends will continue to fight.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I like to think I learn a lot out of every fight.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I will be in the UFC one day, and it will take more than one man to stop me.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Everyone knows I like to fight injured. Half the fights I’ve taken, I’ve always been injured.”
― Robert Whittaker
“All my skill sets have grown; my experience in the Octagon has grown. I honestly just think I’m getting better with every fight.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I don’t think you ever get used to being away from home.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Come fight night, there will be nerves, but it’s how you react to those nerves – doing what you need to regardless – that’s how you win fights.”
― Robert Whittaker
“It is amazing to have the UFC to come here to Perth… it is great for Australian Mixed Martial Arts and great for the sport, and it is going to be great for Perth to have such a world-wide event, through pay-per-view, hosted here.”
― Robert Whittaker
“My standard training week, there’s a lot of training in there. I have a high-performance coach who manages these spreadsheets of mine, manages my sessions and my loads. It’s a very complicated process, and he puts me through about 22 sessions a week.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Basically, I try to get across my striking, wrestling and grappling, and jujitsu. Every day, across the board, I try to get an equal amount of sessions throughout the week because I need to improve in all aspects of my fighting.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I think the mental preparation isn’t something that you can work on in one large sum. It has to be a collective collaboration of doing little things for your mental state constantly throughout the prep and managing your life outside the Octagon, managing your life in transit to the Octagon, managing your life once you get to training.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’ve always known I’ve had power.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’m always trying to prove myself to the rest of the world.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Every fight, I try to get out there and set an example to show the rest of the world we have fighters from Australia, and we’re for real, and we’re here to stay.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I watch a couple of fights to get a visual image in my head. I don’t like doing a lot of research on my opponents; I leave that to my coaches.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I’m a striker. That’s what I enjoy doing. And any chance to display that, I’m happy.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I know that it’s a fight at the end of the day; it’s not a grappling match.”
― Robert Whittaker
“I actually think that wrestling is much harder than MMA, to be honest.”
― Robert Whittaker
“Take a martial art that you enjoy. Don’t worry about the end result; just enjoy getting up and going to training. And there is no right martial art to do. They are all good.”
― Robert Whittaker
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