Is Whittaker past prime now?

[Elvis.]

It’s hard to say , his next fight will explain a lot

 

[andgonsil]

He is at Usman stage

 

[NoContest]

Coming in to this fight, Whittaker was riding high and looking as good as he's ever been.
His performances speak for themselves.

Dricus and his team however, took advantage of a hole they saw in his game. In the post fight interview Dricus points out that they learned from Whittaker vs. Cannonier, that Rob can be susceptible and hurt by the southpaw jab.

That's why Dricus fought in southpaw mostly.
Dricus also has a reach advantage and awkward timing. Whittaker never found his range and tried to rely simply on his incredible speed.

A+ execution foe Du Plessis.

He also made good reads. Whittaker started doing his usual thing and he looked like was outclassing DDP with sheer speed and accuracy. But with every exchange DDP got better at defending and countering.

 

[mangokush]

Where was this talk before Driscus beat him?

 

[Tweak896]

Not out of prime but he's fought lower quality fighters and looked more skilled because of low skilled they were. Not to mention he hasn't finished anyone in forever. People act like he's an ATG for TDD because he stuffed Romero, when really it's like being able to stop Hendo from TDs at the end of his career.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

No, DDP is just way better than people thought mainly cause he moves weird.

 

[HaulParris]

It's Dricus' nose surgery, he can breathe better now and cannot be stopped.

 

[jkthenatural]

Huge Whittaker fan and yeah he didn’t look good. But, let’s be honest, even if he wasn’t at his best or he’s not in his prime, he got worked. He got outstruck, taken down, beat up a little there, and then ultimately dropped and finished. It just is what it is honestly

 

[Shoguns Prodigy**]

He is starting to slow down but ddp could also be that good. He is definitely good but good enough to do that to Bobby when very few have? It’s questionable.

 

[chinarice]

Who has Whittaker fought during his MW run that has the skillset of Dricus?

Answer: No one

Give Diamond Dallas Page credit. He beat the shit out of Whittaker

 

[HatKick]

Don't think so. He just has a sus chin but improved his defense a lot since the first Izzy fight. Dricus is the first guy in a while to penetrate Rob's defense and really hit that botton in a big way. Rob still looks as fast as ever but his chin might be gone now moving forward.

 

[balkanbomber85]

We will need one or two more fights to make an educated guess.

I know that its easy to call somebody past his prime after one loss but fact is that this is a one man sport and one loss after a long time of domination and a very positive win/loss ratio can often be a negative game changer. You lose a little more confidence, a little hunger, while your next opponent gets what u lost and there you go. Rob aint a freshman but a senior fighter when looking at his career, so yes, maybe he is over the too but lets first see his next 1-2 fights!

 

[blaseblase]

Rob is only 32, he's clearly still in his prime. Went 25 min with Izzy last year (the only other person to beat him at MW in 9 yrs)

Does nobody consider that maybe Du Plessis is actually really good. He's 6-0 in the UFC now with 5 finishes. Its a possibility

Age isn't always relevant, fighter careers can flame out at any time. See JDS, Cain, Fedor, or just recently Kevin Lee.

Whittaker has been competing in mma for 14 years since he was 18. He's very old in fight years. His next fight should inform us whether it was age or DDP being that good.

 

[Kaiokenrye24]

He didn’t seem as confident but I also think DDP did a great job imposing his size

 

[spooNN]

Well' find out after a couple of fights.

 

[jeff7b9]

Whittaker did look a bit chinny, however, I think the physicality of DDP was the main reason.
Whittaker made 170 several times in his career, not a chance in hell DDP is ever making 170.

Dricus fought WW more recently than Rob did.

 

[Yungrich]

Bonus

 

[Local Plata]

No, DDP is just way better than people thought mainly cause he moves weird.

He doesn't 'Move weird' ... he moves like shit. He moves like he is 50 years old and got injured numerous times playing high school football and has had a half dozen knee surgeries. He moves like a fucking geriatric.

 

[Enigma87]

Lol at “barely surviving Brunson” try watching that fight again

 

[Mr_Pink_eyes]

Rob has a tendency to get hit in most of his fights. He either recovers and comes back strong or gets put out by a series of strikes. Du out blasted him and put him down against the cage.

Rob is still young and could always come back better than ever or even worse.

Can't take away that he's one hell of a fighter.