Following his comeback win against Yoel Romero at UFC 213 last weekend, Australia’s first UFC champion Robert Whittaker has broken into the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Whittaker (19-4) takes up number 13 place ahead of TJ Dillashaw and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Sitting atop the list is flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson ahead of Conor McGregor then Daniel Cormier.
Whittaker defeated “Soldier of God” at UFC 213 via a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the interim UFC middleweight title fight 48-47. The win did not come easy for the 26 year-old Sydney based fighter, after suffering an injury courtesy of a Romero kick in the opening round, Whittaker’s knee was left unstable throughout the fight. He was, however, able to snatch the last three rounds from the dangerous Cuban, utilising his creative striking and smart game plan.
Whittaker will next face middleweight champion Michael Bisping in a title unification bout. Although further details about the matchup are forthcoming, UFC president Dana White has stated that he would love to “do the fight in Australia.”
The promotion recently announced their Sydney return for 19th of November at the Qudos Bank Arena (formerly known as Allphones & Acer Arena).
