Robert John Whittaker (born 20 December 1990) is an Australian professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. He currently competes in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC), where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Whittaker was a contestant on the first series of '' The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes'' and won the welterweight tournament. Whittaker became interim middleweight champion after winning the title at

UFC 213 ''UFC 213: Romero vs. Whittaker'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 8, 2017, at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Background The event took place ...

; he was promoted to undisputed champion after

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor and former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-division champion in the Ult ...

vacated the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2017. As of November 15, 2022, he is #2 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Background

Whittaker was born at

Middlemore Hospital Middlemore Hospital is a major public hospital in the suburb of Otahuhu, Auckland, New Zealand. The hospital has approximately 800 beds. There are 24 operating theatres across two sites. History In 1943, during World War II, construction comme ...

Ōtāhuhu Ōtāhuhu is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand – to the southeast of the CBD, on a narrow isthmus between an arm of the Manukau Harbour to the west and the Tamaki River estuary to the east. The isthmus is the narrowest connection between the ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. His father is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

descent and his mother is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

and Samoan descent. Moving to Australia shortly after, Whittaker's father enrolled Robert, aged seven, and his brother in a Goju-ryu

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

school, to encourage them in self-discipline and self-defence. After training in the discipline for a little over eight years, and earning his black belt, his father offered him the chance to change to another sport or drop karate entirely. While his brother decided to drop out, Robert chose to switch to a

Hapkido Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other stri ...

gym run by Henry Perez, following his move to Menai. Not long afterwards, Perez transformed his gym into an MMA gym. Having no other choice, Whittaker began training in MMA and was immediately hooked, choosing MMA as his preferred sport over

Rugby League Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

. Whittaker prefers not to engage in

trash-talk Trash talk is a form of insult usually found in sports events, although it is not exclusive to sports or similarly characterized events. It is often used to intimidate the opposition and/or make them less confident in their abilities as to win ...

outside of the octagon. As he puts it:

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In 2008 Whittaker signed with Australia's Xtreme Fighting Championships and made his debut 14 March 2009 against fellow pro debutant Chris Tallowin. Whittaker won the fight via TKO in the first round. Whittaker continued his career with Cage Fighting Championships, going 6-0 inside the promotion from 2009 to 2011, with a notable win over fellow '' TUF: Smashes'' cast member, Ben Alloway. On 30 October 2011 Whittaker lost his first fight when he travelled to

Cotai Cotai (; pt, Zona do Aterro de Cotai) is a piece of newly reclaimed land on top of Seac Pai Bay between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau, that has made two independent islands become one island, since 2005. The word (a portmanteau of Coloan ...

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

for Legend Fighting Championships 6: he fought Hoon Kim and lost via submission in the first round. Whittaker bounced back from the loss and won two consecutive bouts before suffering his second loss to

Jesse Juarez Jesse Juarez (born May 8, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut. A professional competitor since 2006, Juarez has also formerly competed for Strikeforce, ...

, which brought his overall record to 9–2.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighter

In 2012, Whittaker's coach, Henry Perez, put him forward for the first series of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, which pitted a team of eight Australians against a team of eight men from the United Kingdom, and he was selected as one of the cast members. In his first fight on the show, Whittaker fought Luke Newman. Whittaker landed a punch flush on the chin of Newman after 19 seconds, knocking him unconscious for several minutes. The win moved him onto the semifinal round. The knockout also earned Whittaker an additional $25,000 for "Knockout of the Season". In the semifinal, Whittaker was matched against replacement fighter and fellow Team Australia teammate, Xavier Lucas. Whittaker won via knockout at 1:17 in the first round. The win moved Whittaker into the final round of the competition, which would take place live on UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson.

Early UFC fights

Whittaker made his UFC debut on 15 December 2012 at

UFC on FX 6 ''The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes'' is the second foreign version of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. Like The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, this version was filmed, in its entir ...

, which was also known as "The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes Finale". He would fight Brad Scott to determine the welterweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes. Whittaker won the fight via unanimous decision to become the first winner of ''The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes'' alongside

Norman Parke Norman Parke (born 22 December 1986) is a Northern Irish mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Parke has fought for the UFC, Absolute Championship Berkut, KSW, and BAMMA. He was also a competitor for Team UK on The U ...

, who was the lightweight winner. Whittaker faced

Colton Smith Colton Thomas Smith (born August 14, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Smith is best known for competing on, and winning The Ultimate Fighter: Team ...

on 25 May 2013 at

UFC 160 ''UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held on May 25, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event was a rematch between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and Ant ...

. He won the fight by TKO in the third round. Whittaker faced

Court McGee Courtney Scott "Court" McGee (born December 12, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, McGee mostly fought in local prom ...

on 28 August 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 27 ''UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 27'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 28, 2013, at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Backg ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Whittaker was expected to face

Brian Melancon Brian Melancon (born May 28, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC's Welterweight division. A professional competitor from 2009-2013, Melancon also formerly competed for Strikeforce, Bellator, and ...

on 7 December 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 33 ''UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 33'') was a mixed martial arts event held on 6 December 2013, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The event was broadcast live on Fox Spo ...

. However, Melancon pulled out of the bout citing an injury and subsequently retired. As a result, Whittaker was removed from the card. Whittaker faced Stephen Thompson on 22 February 2014 at

UFC 170 ''UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann'' was a mixed martial arts held on February 22, 2014, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was released on DVD on May 27, 2014. The DVD was distributed by ''Anchor Bay Entertainment''. Ba ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Whittaker faced Mike Rhodes on 28 June 2014 at UFC Fight Night 43. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Move to middleweight

Whittaker faced

Clint Hester Clint Hester (born November 21, 1986) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who last competed in 2016. A professional competitor since 2008, he fought in the UFC and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. T ...

in a middleweight bout on 8 November 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 55 ''UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 55'') was a mixed martial arts event held at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on November 8, 2014. Background This event was the fourth event that ...

. He won the back-and-forth fight via TKO in the second round. The win also earned Whittaker his first ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Whittaker faced

Brad Tavares Bradley Kaipo Sarbida Tavares (born December 21, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Tavares currently competes in the middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2007, Tavares foug ...

on 10 May 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 65 ''UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 65'') was a mixed martial arts event held on 10 May 2015 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, South Australia. Background The event was the first that the promot ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. The win also earned Whittaker his first ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Whittaker was expected to face

Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...

on 15 November 2015 at

UFC 193 ''UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm'' was a mixed martial arts event held on 14 November 2015, at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the most attended UFC event in the history of the company at the time, with 56,214 people filling th ...

. However, Bisping pulled out of the fight on 30 September, citing an elbow injury, and was replaced by Uriah Hall. Whittaker defeated Hall by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–28). Whittaker next faced

Rafael Natal Rafael Natal Diniz Franca () is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional from 2005 until 2017, he is best known for his 17-fight stint competing for the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Background Natal started Brazilian Jiu-Jits ...

on 23 April 2016 at

UFC 197 ''UFC 197: Jones vs. Saint Preux'' was a mixed martial arts event held on April 23, 2016, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event's number was initially planned for an event taking place on March 5, 2016 at HSBC Are ...

. Whittaker won the back and forth fight via unanimous decision. Whittaker faced

Derek Brunson Derek Brunson (born January 4, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of September 5, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC middleweight ran ...

on 27 November 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 101 ''UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 101'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 27, 2016, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Back ...

. He won the back and forth fight via first-round TKO. The win also earned him the ''Performance of the Night and'' the ''Fight of the Night bonus awards.'' Whittaker faced

Ronaldo Souza Ronaldo Souza dos Santos (born December 7, 1979), nicknamed " Jacare" (), is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist and submission grappler who competed for UFC from 2013 to 2021. A highly regarded grappler on the worl ...

on 15 April 2017 at

UFC on Fox 24 ''UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Reis'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 24'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on April 15, 2017, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Background The event was the f ...

. He won by second-round TKO and in the process became the first person to finish Souza since 2008. The win also earned Whittaker his third ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award.

UFC Middleweight Champion

Whittaker fought for the interim middleweight title against

Yoel Romero Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for Bellator MMA. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division ...

on 8 July 2017 at

, after

announced a nagging knee injury which would go on to keep him on the sidelines for several months. Whittaker won by unanimous decision, and became the first Australian and first New Zealand born fighter to hold a UFC title. This win earned him the ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. He missed the remainder of 2017, as he was recovering from a medial knee injury to his left leg. On 7 December 2017, then middleweight champion

vacated the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

after being diagnosed with

colitis Colitis is swelling or inflammation of the large intestine ( colon). Colitis may be acute and self-limited or long-term. It broadly fits into the category of digestive diseases. In a medical context, the label ''colitis'' (without qualification) ...

. As a result, Whittaker was promoted to undisputed champion. He was slated for his first title defence at

UFC 221 ''UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 11, 2018, at Perth Arena in Perth, Western Australia. Background While the UFC has hosted 11 previous events ...

against former middleweight champion

Luke Rockhold Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight division. ...

on 10 February 2018 at

Perth Arena Perth Arena (known commercially as ) is an entertainment and sporting arena in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia, used mostly for basketball matches. It is located on Wellington Street near the site of the former Perth Entertainmen ...

in Australia. On 13 January 2018, it was reported that Whittaker had pulled out of the event due to an undisclosed injury and would be replaced by

for the interim middleweight championship. The winner of this bout would then face Whittaker in a unification bout. On 20 January 2018, Dana White confirmed that Whittaker was in a serious condition after he was not properly treated from a

staph infection A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria. These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasio ...

in his stomach. A rematch with Romero took place on 9 June 2018 at

UFC 225 ''UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 9, 2018, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between ...

. At the weigh-ins, Romero missed weight, coming in at 186 lbs, 1 pound over the middleweight limit for a title fight. Romero was given additional time to make weight, but he weighed in at 185.2 lbs, 0.2 lbs over the title fight limit. Romero was fined 20% of his fight purse and the fight was contested as a non-title catchweight bout. Whittaker won the fight by a close split decision. Their fight was awarded with 'Fight of The Night' honours. As Romero had failed to make weight, Whittaker received a $100,000 bonus, which would normally have been shared by both fighters. In July 2018, the UFC announced that Whittaker and

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum has competed for the UFC since he won '' The Ul ...

had been selected as coaches for Ultimate Fighter 28. On 2 November 2018, it was announced that Whittaker's next middleweight title defence would be against

, in February at

UFC 234 ''UFC 234: Adesanya vs. Silva'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 10, 2019 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Background A UFC Middleweight Championship b ...

. However, Whittaker pulled out of the event a few hours beforehand after he was forced to undergo emergency dual surgery immediately, due to an

abdominal hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin. Groin herni ...

of the intestine and a twisted and collapsed bowel. Whittaker faced

Israel Adesanya Israel Mobolaji Odunayo Oluwafemi Temitayo Owolabi Adesanya (born 22 July 1989) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer with multiple championships in all three disciplines. As a mixed martial artist, h ...

on 6 October 2019 at

UFC 243 ''UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 6, 2019, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Background The event was the ...

. He lost the bout and the championship via second-round knockout.

Post UFC Middleweight Championship

Whittaker was scheduled to face

Jared Cannonier Jared Cannonier (born March 16, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently fights in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 15, 2022, he is #3 in the UFC middleweight ran ...

on 7 March 2020 at

UFC 248 ''UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 7, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. B ...

. However, on 15 January 2020, it was announced Whittaker pulled out of the bout for undisclosed reasons. In late April 2020, Whittaker revealed in an interview that he withdrew from the bout and training altogether due to burnout. Whittaker faced

Darren Till Darren Till (born 24 December 1992) is an English professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 13, 2022, he is #15 ...

on 26 July 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Whittaker faced

on 24 October 2020 at

UFC 254 ''UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 24, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event proceeded w ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Whittaker was scheduled to face

Paulo Costa Paulo Henrique Costa (born 21 April 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 1, 2022, he is #6 in the UFC middleweight ...

on 17 April 2021 at

UFC on ESPN 22 ''UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 22'' and ''UFC Vegas 24'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 17, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterpr ...

. However, on March 16 Costa withdrew from the fight due to illness, and he was replaced by

. Whittaker won the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. A rematch between Whittaker and Adesanya for the

UFC Middleweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

took place on 12 February 2022 at

UFC 271 ''UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 12, 2022 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Middleweight Champio ...

. Whittaker lost the bout via unanimous decision. Whittaker was scheduled to face

Marvin Vettori Marvin Vettori (born September 20, 1993) is an Italian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Vettori is a former Venator FC Wel ...

June 11, 2022 at

UFC 275 ''UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Procházka'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 12, 2022, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Champi ...

. However, Whittaker withdrew for undisclosed reasons. The pair was rescheduled to meet at

UFC Fight Night 209 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 209'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 3, 2022, at Accor Arena in Paris, Fra ...

on September 3, 2022. Whittaker won the fight via unanimous decision. Whittaker was scheduled to face

on February 12, 2023, at

UFC 284 ''UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on February 12, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Background The event will mark the promoti ...

. However, Costa disputed the official announcement by the promotion indicating he had never signed a contract and the fight would not take place.

Freestyle wrestling career

Whittaker began competing in amateur freestyle wrestling tournaments in 2015, when he unexpectedly turned up to compete in the Australia Cup in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. He won each of his three bouts. It was also at the 2015 Australia Cup that Whittaker flagged the possibility of potentially representing Australia in

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

wrestling competitions. He returned to the wrestling mat in May 2017 and claimed the Australian National Wrestling Championships gold medal in the 97 kg (213 lbs) division. After winning the national championship, Whittaker entered Australia's

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

97 kg qualifying tournament in November 2017. He would once again claim first place in his division and in doing so qualified to represent Australia in the

on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, the city in which he made his UFC debut. Following his qualification, Whittaker made it clear he would only compete in the Commonwealth Games if the event did not interfere with his UFC commitments. It was confirmed in March 2018 that Whittaker would be one of eight Australians to compete in the Commonwealth Games wrestling competition in April 2018. However, Whittaker was forced to withdraw from the Games less than three weeks from the event in order not to risk being stripped of his UFC championship title, as the UFC was concerned that an injury incurred during the Commonwealth Games would render him unable to compete for the middleweight championship at

against

on 9 June 2018.

Championships and accomplishments

General

GQ Australia ''GQ Australia'' is an Australian lifestyle publication and the Australian version of men's magazine ''GQ''. Published by NewsLifeMedia, a division of News Corp Australia, the print and digital men's title offers advice, news and features acros ...

** 2018

Sportsman of the year award

Mixed martial arts

(one time) **Interim

(one time, first) **First Australian UFC champion ** The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes Welterweight Tournament Winner ** The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes Knockout of the Season ** Fight of the Night (five times) vs.

(2), and

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(three times) vs.

, and

*Superfight Australia **Superfight Australia Welterweight Championship (one time) *MMA Mania.com **UFC/MMA 'Fighter of the Year' 2017 - Top 5 List #2 *

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

** 2017 Fighter of the Year *MMA DNA.nl ** 2017 Fighter of the Year ** 2018 Fight of the Year. *BJPENN.COM ** Scrap of the Month for June 2018 *World MMA Awards ** 2017 International Fighter of the Year

Freestyle wrestling

*Australia Cup **Winner - 97 kg (2015) *Australian National Wrestling Championships **Gold medal - 97 kg (2017) *Commonwealth Games ** Qualified - 97 kg (

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

)

Personal life

Whittaker and his wife Sofia have three sons, John, Jack and Jace, and a daughter, Lilliana. Whittaker also has legal guardianship of his younger half sister and brothers Kerehi and Henry Matafeo.

Representing both Australia and New Zealand

Whittaker once stated in an interview, "Pretty much all my mother's side is

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

and we have a strong Maori heritage. He said further, "I feel really privileged to have that Maori blood and link to my past. I got my

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

out of respect to that." Whittaker was born in New Zealand and moved to Australia when he was one month old. As stated in an interview, "My mother wanted to have me back home, so she came back. After I was born we came back to Australia. It's half of who I am, is Maori, and my mum's roots go back to

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

." When asked about his nationality in an interview with the Australian TV programme ''The Project'', he declared that he had an Australian passport but added that he felt as if he represented both countries as an MMA fighter. In an interview with ''

'', he stated:

Youth clinics for community service

Whittaker has held clinics for youths in his spare time at his home gym, Gracie jiu-jitsu at Smeaton Grange, and also visited several remote

Australian Indigenous Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

youth communities at inland

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Through this community service, he hopes to inspire the younger generation to take up combat sports by being a good role model to them. Whittaker has said "I want to be a good role model for young up-and-coming athletes, and I want to be a role model to men in general. If I could affect a kid, then this whole journey is amazing. To help them to have some sort of a career path in the sport and fitness industry, and if I could do that for one kid even that would make my day."

Mixed martial arts record

, - , , align=center, 24–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France , , - , Loss , align=center, 23–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 23–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 22–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

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Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 21–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–5 ,

, KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:33 ,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 20–4 ,

, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–4 ,

, TKO (head kick and punches) , UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Reis , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:28 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–4 ,

, TKO (head kick and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:07 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 , Uriah Hall , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 ,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 ,

, TKO (knee and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:43 ,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Mike Rhodes , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, New Zealand , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–4 , Stephen Thompson , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:43 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:41 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Brad Scott , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Cage Fighting Championships 21 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Shaun Spooner , TKO (punches) , Superfight Australia 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:01 ,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Ian Bone , TKO (punches) , Cage Fighting Championships 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:15 ,

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Hoon Kim , Submission (triangle choke) , Legend Fighting Championship 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:01 ,

SAR SAR or Sar may refer to: Places * Sar (river), Galicia, Spain * Sar, Bahrain, a residential district * Sar, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Sar, Tibet, Tibet Autonomous Region of China * Šar Mountains, in southeastern Europe ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Corey Nelson , Submission (armbar) , Cage Fighting Championships 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:40 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 ,

Ben Alloway Ben Alloway (born 19 February 1981) is an Australian mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, he was a competitor on '' The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes''. Ben formerly fought for the UFC in the welterweight division. ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Fighting Championships 17 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:07 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Nate Thomson , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Fighting Championships 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:21 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Jay Cobain , Submission (armbar) , Cage Fighting Championships 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:32 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Nick Ariel , KO (punch) , Cage Fighting Championships 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:50 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Richard Walsh , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Fighting Championships 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:40 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Chris Tallowin , TKO (punches) , XFC 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Australia ,

Pay-per-view bouts

Freestyle record

! colspan="7", Senior Freestyle Matches , - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , align=left, Christopher Galbraith-Clark , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, November 2017 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, 2017 AUS Commonwealth Team Trials , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=2, Australia , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , align=left, Nick Verryenne , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , align=left, Nick Mann , style="font-size:88%", N/A , style="font-size:88%" , May 2017 , style="font-size:88%" , 2017 Australian National Championships , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" ,

Minto Minto may refer to: Places Antarctica *Mount Minto (Antarctica) Australia *Minto, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Minto railway station * Minto County, Western Australia * Parish of Minto, New South Wales Canada * Minto City, British C ...

, Australia , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , align=left, Christopher Galbraith-Clark , style="font-size:88%", TF 14–4 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, July 2015 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, 2015 Australia Cup , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3,

, ACT, Australia , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , align=left, Sean Belisle , style="font-size:88%", 8–2 , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , align=left, Don Endermaun , style="font-size:88%", TF 13–0 , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whittaker, Robert 1990 births Living people Australian sportspeople of Samoan descent Australian male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists The Ultimate Fighter winners Sportspeople from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian male karateka Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Samoan practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Australian hapkido practitioners Mixed martial artists utilizing hapkido Mixed martial artists utilizing Gōjū-ryū Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Australian people of Māori descent Australian people of Samoan descent Australian people of Polynesian descent New Zealand emigrants to Australia Samoan male mixed martial artists Australian male sport wrestlers Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighter

Early UFC fights

Move to middleweight

UFC Middleweight Champion

Post UFC Middleweight Championship

Freestyle wrestling career

Championships and accomplishments

General

Mixed martial arts

Freestyle wrestling

Personal life

Representing both Australia and New Zealand

Youth clinics for community service

Mixed martial arts record

Pay-per-view bouts

Freestyle record

See also

References

External links