Robert Whittaker

Overview

Whittaker's seven UFC losses split cleanly: four to elite opponents, three to Court McGee, Stephen Thompson and a strong Reinier de Ridder. The elite four are Israel Adesanya twice, Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.

He competes at light heavyweight, with an 18-7 UFC record and 28-9-0 across all promotions. Seven of those 18 UFC wins came by KO/TKO. The other 11 went to the scorecards. He has no submission wins.

UFC Career

Whittaker debuted in December 2012 with a three-round decision over Brad Scott, then stopped Colton Smith in the third round at UFC 160. Early losses followed to Court McGee (split decision) and Stephen Thompson (first-round KO/TKO at UFC 170).

The run that defined him started in 2014. Nine straight wins, the longest streak of his UFC career, included KO/TKO finishes of Clint Hester, Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson. The Brunson win was a main event, finished in the first round at 4:07. He followed it with a second-round KO/TKO of Ronaldo Souza, then went to five rounds with Yoel Romero twice, winning a unanimous decision in July 2017 and a split decision in June 2018. Brunson, Souza and Romero all rate as elite in our model.

Israel Adesanya ended the streak with a second-round KO/TKO at UFC 243, and beat him again by unanimous decision over five rounds in 2022. In between, Whittaker beat Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum, all strong opponents, with two of the three going the full five rounds.

The later years were uneven. He lost to Dricus Du Plessis by second-round KO/TKO in 2023, then beat Paulo Costa and finished Ikram Aliskerov in the first round. A first-round submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev and a split decision against Reinier de Ridder followed. His latest fight ended with a third-round KO/TKO of Nikita Krylov, a win that carries him into his next fight.

Ten of his 25 UFC fights were main events.

Fighting Style

Robert Whittaker is a busy striker who is hard to hit. He lands a lot, takes less than most, and defends well on the feet. Accuracy sits around the UFC average.

He is also very hard to take down. His own grappling output is minimal: he rarely shoots for takedowns and almost never hunts for submissions. His wins come on the feet, not on the mat.

His finishing pattern is spread out, not front-loaded. Of seven KO/TKO wins, three came in round one, two in round two and two in round three. He has no submission wins, and most of his victories, 11 of 18, go the distance.

Notable Wins

• Derek Brunson — KO/TKO, round 1, UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson (2016)
• Ronaldo Souza — KO/TKO, round 2, UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Reis (2017)
• Yoel Romero — unanimous decision, round 5, UFC 213 (2017)
• Yoel Romero — split decision, round 5, UFC 225 (2018)

Quick Facts

• Division: Light Heavyweight
• UFC record: 18-7 (7 KO/TKO wins, 11 decision wins)
• Professional record (all promotions): 28-9-0
• UFC debut: 2012
• Stance: Orthodox
• Reach: 73.5"; height: 6'0"
• Team: PMA, Padstow NSW, Australia
• Born: Otahuhu, Australia