UFC President Dana White and his matchmaking team may have a new light heavyweight in the title mix before the end of the year. On the most recent episode of his MMArcade Podcast, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker revealed his plans to move up to 205.
Whittaker was asked about his timetable for making the move up to light heavyweight.
“I’m gonna decide after this next fight,” Whittaker said. So one more at middleweight, he was asked? “At the very least, depending on… I’m gonna try to push the boundaries of weight ratio and see where we come up.”
Moments later, Whittaker shared he’d like to fight Sean Strickland at International Fight Week.
Whittaker is one of the best strikers in the UFC and one of the most well-rounded guys in the sport. The 34-year-old is coming off a devastating first-round submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev in October 2024 at UFC 308. The loss caved in Whittaker’s bottom teeth, and the injury required surgery to fully heal.
Before the loss to Chimaev, Whittaker was seemingly hammering his way back toward a title shot at 185 pounds. He’d scored a unanimous decision win over Paulo Costa in February 2024 and a thunderous KO victory over Ikram Aliskerov in June 2024.
However, at Whittaker’s age and now 34 professional fights and 23 UFC bouts into his career, he may be ready to steer clear of the weight cut down to 185 pounds. Listed at 6 feet even, Whittaker isn’t a long guy, and he’ll be on the shorter side of the light heavyweight size spectrum.
Consider this: The shortest fighter currently ranked in the Top 10 at light heavyweight is Khalil Rountree Jr., and he’s 6-foot-1. The champion, Magomed Ankalaev, is 6-foot-3.
Whittaker has tons of experience and also possesses lightning-fast hands, but you wonder how he will match up against the bigger light heavyweights.
As for the fight he wants next, it makes the most sense for him and the entire middleweight division. Both he and Strickland are coming off losses to the guys most likely set to fight in the next middleweight championship bout.
Dricus Du Plessis won his rematch with Strickland in February, and Whittaker fell to Chimaev. DDP is expected to face Chimaev in a title fight sometime this summer. With Strickland ranked No. 2 and Whittaker at No. 5, you’d have to wonder where the winner would stand when it comes to a potential title shot.
Strickland has lost to DDP twice, and Whittaker has fallen to the champion once. Nassourdine Imavov is currently the No. 1-ranked fighter under DDP, but it seems the Chimaev title shot was already etched in stone before the former scored a TKO victory over Israel Adesanya in February.
If Chimaev wins, I can see DDP getting an immediate rematch. If DDP wins, it’s pretty simple—he would probably defend his title against Imavov, and if he wins that fight, DDP will likely head for light heavyweight himself.
As you can see, it’s a fluid situation atop the middleweight division, and the hope is that a new set of compelling contenders and champions will arise. We’ll soon know where Whittaker fits into the mix.
