UFC 254: Robert Whittaker relishes role as the world’s top-ranked underdog
- American Jared Cannonier stands between Australian former middleweight champ and a crack at Israel Adesanya
- ‘I love upsetting people. I’ve done it my entire career. I’m happy to play that role,’ says ‘The Reaper’
It seems easy for the world to forget Robert Whittaker’s remarkable rise to the UFC’s middleweight title, built on the back of a nine-win streak and a fight game forged across an eight-year journey.
It’s a tale that was lost, pretty much, when the now 29-year-old Aussie had his title taken away last year by Nigerian-Kiwi sensation Israel Adesanya, a human headline-machine who warms to the media spotlight as much as Whittaker seems to accept its attention as something simply to be endured.
In the lead-up to this weekend’s clash with American Jared Cannonier (13-4) at UFC 254 much of the focus, again, has not been on the No 1-ranked Whittaker (22-5) but on his second-ranked rival. But you’re left with the distinct impression this is just how Whittaker likes things to be.
“I love upsetting people. I’ve done it my entire career. I’m happy to play that role,” Whittaker told an international conference call of his role this weekend as fight history’s first top-ranked underdog.
Speaking to SCMP MMA the day before that call, Whittaker talked about what’s ahead this weekend, but also about what is now in the rear-view mirror, including that loss to Adesanya at UFC 243 in Melbourne last October.
First, he said, the fact Adesanya had already called out Cannonier for a title shot – should he win on Saturday – was of little concern. No offence had been taken. But that doesn’t mean Whittaker doesn’t want a return date with the champion.