Media "I want Robert Whittaker next"

Kenny95 said:
At 4300 ft elevation in salt lake city your blood effective oxygen level decreases by 14%, casual
Click to expand...
Was everyone else on the card training at elevation then? Elevation is applied equally. Let's say that Costa didn't look that great "relative" to every one else on the card, who also fought at elevation?
 
Crazy Librarian said:
Rob is in terrible position at 185 imo. Beating contenders left and right without being a champion. One of the reason I want Poatan to win. I want Rob to be a champion again. With Izzy being on top, hard for me to picture Rob's 3rd title shot will happen.
Click to expand...
I agree man, it does suck but he seems to be taking the right steps into earning another crack at that belt.
Again another solid win or two could get him there and especially if he's active.

He's got a couple of things going for him to help him get that third fight tho, he already beat a good amount of current top contenders, is well liked amongst the fans, is a former champion, has been active enough lately, has an entertaining style, middleweight doesn't have a lot of challenges left for Izzy, that second fight was pretty close and Izzy vs Whittaker is a huge fight in either NZ or Australia since both live in the Oceania region.
I think that last part is key since NZ and Australia seems to be opening up again for UFC events and Izzy/Rob is a huge fight for that region even if we've seen it twice before.
With all that being said, Rob IMO needs to beat a few more top guys to get it which isn't easy.

Another thing I gotta mention is I'm also a fan of Izzy, however I've been a strong Bobby Knuckles fan for a long time(probably my favorite active fighter atm) and would love to see him get that belt back even if it's unlikely at this point.
Izzy will also be way tougher to beat in a third fight IMO if Rob gets there mainly because Izzy is still a very hard matchup for him along with me believing he'll make the better adjustments heading into a third fight.
 
Question said:
Good points, but Rob doesn't care about that and he just loves to compete against anyone the UFC put in front of him.
Even if the second fight against Izzy was close, the reality is Whittaker is 0-2 against him.

He's still hunting for that belt and unlike other top contenders he won't just sit on the sidelines waiting for another TS if that means he'll have to wait for when the champion is ready.
Prime example of this is him accepting the first Costa matchup back in 2021(Costa did withdraw from that bout and Gastelum stepped in) after he just defeated Till and Cannonier, Whittaker already had another TS locked in however he chose to keep fighting while Izzy was up at LHW.

Back to this potential Whittaker/Costa fight tho, I do think Rob needs another solid one or two more wins if want another crack at Izzy and he hasn't fought Costa yet.
Him being active and beating anyone the UFC give him is the fastest/best way to do it too.
Another thing that this fight brings is the narrative that Rob beats him and Izzy's common opponents in better fashion(partly true IMO). Izzy TKO'ing Costa is arguably his best performance so let's if Whittaker can do it just as good or better.
Click to expand...

If Rob goes and beats Costa he has beaten every single one of Izzy's best wins besides Anderson...
He has also beaten them better. I think he edged the last fight against Izzy also, but Izzy has the dominant finish in the 1st.
If he fights and beats Costa, you kinda have to match them again to be honest. Rob has cleaned the division out before anyone can get to Izzy and Izzy is just fighting his scraps at this point.
I also think Rob beats Pereira easily regardless of the outcome of the fight with Izzy.
 
maximus__ said:
If Rob goes and beats Costa he has beaten every single one of Izzy's best wins besides Anderson...
He has also beaten them better. I think he edged the last fight against Izzy also, but Izzy has the dominant finish in the 1st.
If he fights and beats Costa, you kinda have to match them again to be honest. Rob has cleaned the division out before anyone can get to Izzy and Izzy is just fighting his scraps at this point.
I also think Rob beats Pereira easily regardless of the outcome of the fight with Izzy.
Click to expand...
Good points man.
I do have Izzy beating Pereira this time around, you never know tho.
If he does I really don't know who else you match him up with at middleweight unless Strickland beats Cannonier or Muniz beats a top five guy.

Whittaker is probably gonna fight in February and all things are pointing at that being against Costa.
I think Rob beats him handily, but topping Izzy's performance over Costa is a very tough task since that was pretty much flawless.

Anyways if Rob beats him in impressive fashion and nothing significant happens at the top of the division that presents a new challenge, I could totally see another fight between Izzy and Rob.
Like I mentioned earlier NZ and Australia opening back up for UFC events will help make that fight happen since both guys live there and it's a huge fight for that region.
Also it's much better place to have it than Texas which was such an odd place to have Izzy/Whittaker 2 as the headliner.

Another is when I first watched their first bout at UFC 271 I scored it for Izzy, however after being recommended to rewatch it without commentary I can definitely see how some scored for Whittaker and it was closer than I remembered.
For the third fight happening, I gotta go with Izzy winning even if I really want Whittaker to get that belt back. Tbh I just think he'll make the better adjustments after spending more time in there with Whittaker.
 
13Seconds said:
Anyone calling out Whittaker deserves hespect
Click to expand...

This, but I got Whitaker 8/10. In 5 rounder 9/10

Costa doesn't have the knockout power, speed, cardio, footwork, anything to really threaten Whitaker.
And after round 2 he is gassed. Whitaker is too good of an anti wrestler to bring it to the ground either.
 
Whittaker by wide decision.
This is the fight to make.
 
Costs needs another tuneup before getting back in the mix at 185 imo. Maybe a returning Chris Weidman or Brad Tavares. He has regained some mojo but the Rockhold fight was far from the steamrolling you'd expect.
 
I don't want to see either lose at this point. Hopefully Russia will stop punishing Chimaev for missing weight, let him out of the country, and he can fight Paulo Costa instead.
 
Kenny95 said:
At 4300 ft elevation in salt lake city your blood effective oxygen level decreases by 14%, casual
Click to expand...
Then you should be 14% worse.
Paulo fought worse than if he was fighting at 30%
 
Costa doing a great job fixing his career
 
Costa broke his hand and the fight was in altitude. I don't think he is going to have cardio issues. He lost quite a bit of mass and leaned out a bit. He used to be a much bigger fighter. I think USADA just tests him too much for any real jenky stuff go on.

He is one of the few guys that are calling people out to fight. I can't hate on that.
 
I don't think Costa really deserves that fight but Whittaker has already fought everybody ranked higher than Costa aside from Pereira who is fighting for the belt. It's a fresh matchup so why not, Whittaker can take out Costa for his new buddy Chimaev.
 
Makes sense. Rob needs to fight someone he hasn't already beaten and since he's not getting a title shot anytime soon then sure. I don't see Costa winning that but it could at least be somewhat competitive. Gotta feel for Rob for being the 2nd best guy knowing he's going to have to get through 4-5 fighters again where they can't deny him another title shot. That or pray Izzy loses twice to Pereira which I don't really see happening.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Takes_Two_To_Tango
  • Poll
Should Robert Whittaker next fight be a title shot?
2 3
Replies
43
Views
1K
Levi_
L

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,237,095
Messages
55,467,322
Members
174,786
Latest member
plasterby

Share this page

Back
Top