Fan favorite Rob Whittaker proved he’s still a contender in the UFC middleweight pision with a clinical first-round knockout victory over Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Saudi Arabia.
The UFC is expected to return to Whittaker’s homeland of Australia with UFC 305 in Perth on August 18, a card on which “The Reaper” was not expected to appear given his fight over the weekend.
However, the efficient nature of Whittaker’s victory has fans wondering if the popular former champion could fight at home for the first time since 2019.
Will Rob Whittaker fight at UFC 305 in Perth?
UFC 305 will be headlined by a middleweight title clash between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.
Whittaker is on the wrong end of an 0-3 record against the current and former two-time 185-pound champion, but believes his recent wins over Aliskerov and Paulo Costa are evidence that he is still a force in the pision.
“I’m not saying if I was there I would have beaten him,” Whittaker said when asked about a possible rematch with du Plessis.
“I’m not going to take that away from him. He showed up that night and beat me fair and square, and now he’s the world champion.
“He’s a good fighter and he’s good at what he does, but I know I can do better.
“Will I beat him? Maybe I’ll raise my hand again, but I know I can do better and I know I didn’t give my best in that fight and I want to go back because of that.
“Adesanya is still on that list [too]. “My goal… is to live up to my own potential, that’s all I want to achieve.”
Whittaker, along with another former champion, Sean Strickland, are the obvious choices should the UFC want a backup fighter for the main event in Perth.
Initially, Whittaker had all but ruled out the idea of fighting at UFC 305 but, following his sub-two-minute victory over Aliskerov, he admitted he would give it some thought.
“It’s home, I plan to be there one way or another,” he said.
“I need to go back and talk to my team about it. We have to work with the other guys who are preparing.
“I took this fight on short notice and pushed a lot of things. “Perth, it’s on my own turf, but let me talk to my team.”
UFC boss Dana White said “we’d love to have him” when asked if the Sydneysider could be called up as a backup for 305.
Whittaker, now a father of five, said he had other commitments to attend to when he returned to Australia.
“My priority is to return home and see my family, two weeks is too long,” he said.
“I’m going to go home and spend time with my family.
“I told them I was taking them to the Gold Coast, so that’s where we need to go.”
UFC 305 fight card
- Dricus du Plessis (c) vs. Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title
- Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes; light
- Casey O’Neill vs. Tereza Bleda; flyweight