UFC: Robert Whittaker traces ‘burnout’ to second Yoel Romero war – ‘it took heaps out of me’

Former middleweight champ reveals UFC absence is down to ‘crashing’ after years of pushing himself to the limit

Whittaker says ‘I just wasn’t myself’ when he lost his title in KO defeat by Israel Adesanya

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Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero each attempt a kick in the fifth round of their middleweight title fight at UFC 225. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:57pm, 24 Apr 2020Updated: 7:57pm, 24 Apr 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has revealed he stepped away from the Octagon because of “burnout” that traces it back to his second five-round war against Yoel Romero.

Whittaker was scheduled to fight Jared Cannonier at UFC 248 in February as he looked to bounce back from losing his belt to Israel Adesanya via a second-round KO in front of 60,000 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne last October.

The 29-year-old withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons, with rumours surfacing online it was because he was donating bone marrow to his daughter – rumours he has now rubbished after breaking his silence in an interview with The Daily Telegraph’s Nick Walshaw.

“My kids were all fine. It was me who had the issue,” Whittaker said.

Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker throw punches at each other in the fifth round at UFC 225. Photo: AFP

The Australian revealed he simply “crashed” after years of pushing himself to the limit physically and mentally with a gruelling training schedule. He said he had felt “this way” since beating Cuban wrecking ball Romero by split decision at UFC 225 in June 2018 – fighting most of the contest with a broken hand.