Robert Whittaker

Whittaker continues to nip at the heels of UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

Vettori is 2-2 in his last four fights, beating Paulo Costa and Kevin Holland but losing to Whittaker and Adesanya. "I'm the most dangerous man in this division, including the champion. Whittaker opened the fight in traditional Whittaker fashion, edging out his opponent with superior movement and combinations while making reads.

Robert Whittaker proved that he's still the top contender in the middleweight division with a masterful performance to beat Marvin Vettori in the UFC Paris ...

Whittaker came right back at him to start the second as he connected with another stinging right hand followed by another combination that seemingly caught Vettori off guard. Whittaker even managed a late takedown just to put an exclamation point on his performance as he knocks off yet another top ranked fighter at 185 pounds. Whittaker was so quick as he unloaded powerful straight punches and then followed with another head kick that just thudded off Vettori’s skull. With Vettori acting as the aggressor to start, Whittaker was playing counter fighter, which led to a hard right hand connecting flush on the chin of the one-time title challenger. When it was over, Whittaker had clearly secured the win with the judges scoring the fight 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 in his favor. Trust me, I hit pretty hard and credit to him.”

The co-main event of the evening was a middleweight clash between former champion Robert Whittaker and fan-favorite Italian powerhouse, Marvin Vettori.

The first round was extremely close, both fights had big moments but neither stood out as a clear winner. 1) was coming off a loss to the reigning champion Israel Adesanya and knew he probably needed a massive, flashy win to be given another chance at the title. Credit to him,” Whittaker said in the cage after his victory.

Watch UFC Paris full fight video highlights: Robert Whittaker defeated Marvin Vettori earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 3, 2022) live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside ...

[#UFCParis] [pic.twitter.com/jWW8fNFdPZ] [September 3, 2022] He kicked Vettori pretty cleanly in the face at least twice, and his right hand was on point too. [#UFCParis] [pic.twitter.com/Pzi4rewzMC] [September 3, 2022] Whittaker really settled into the fight in the second. Both men were landing, but Whittaker was a bit more active and landing with more weapons. Early on, it was Whittaker circling the cage, sticking kicks and jabs.

Former middlweight champion Robert Whittaker returned to the octagon to score a clear points win over Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris.

[lost the belt to Adesanya](https://www.sportingnews.com/au/mma/news/when-is-ufc-243-whittaker-vs-adesanya-in-melbourne-tickets-how-to-watch-who-is-fighting-fight-card-betting-odds-pay-per-view/ycyf80srdrzz1ax3pd66kl701) before [going down in a close one in the rematch](https://www.sportingnews.com/au/ufc-271-israel-adesanya-robert-whittaker-rematch-middleweight-title-mma-australia), said he's not going anywhere. "I’m stoked with it. After a close and cagey first round, Whittaker found his timing and went through the gears to show the full range of his skills.

Robert Whittaker defeated Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris. On Twitter, pro fighters reacted to the bout.

If Marvin wants to win this fight he has to go for broke and take risk inside the pocket.— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) Marvin has to take the space from Whitaker if he wants success. After three rounds of mostly stand-up, the ‘Reaper’ dished out a lot of damage on a very resistent Vettori to pick up a unanimous decision victory.

Despite two losses to champion Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker says he deserves another shot at the middleweight belt after a unanimous decision win over ...

He put the lights out … "Honestly, Tai hit me so hard, he knocked me out. I'm just gonna be lurking there, waiting."

An important matchup at the top of the UFC middleweight division went down in the famous city of Paris this weekend as the co-main event for the city's ...

The diversity of attacks throughout the fight was not anything insane, nothing unusual or unexpected in terms of specific techniques, but the timing and range of the former champion simply allowed him to land with apparent ease. He feinted, landed a massive straight right hand, pressed forward, slipped a telegraphed high kick, easily stuffed a single leg, and stomped on the front knee of his foe. Robert got off first in round two with low-line side-kicks to the knee and front kicks to the belly of his foe. He soon landed some clean strikes against the fence and more stabbing kicks to the belly of his foe. Vettori had reset somewhat and was not yet eating the big shots he ate towards the latter half of round two, but he was not significantly making up the striking gap. For his part, Vettori came out looking to pressure his Australian opponent back to the fence but early on his punches from his southpaw stance were largely coming just short against the movement of ‘The Reaper.’ With around two minutes left in the round, Vettori tried to take down Robert through the clinch but the takedown defense held up and they separated.

Robert Whittaker defeats Marvin Vettori at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Tuivasa live from AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France.

I take the love of it from them.” New Zealand-born former middleweight champion from Australia secured the victory over former title challenger of Italy by decision. With the victory by unanimous decision No.

Vettori (18-6-1 MMA) had entered today's co-main event with hopes of building on his unanimous decision victory over Paulo Costa at UFC Vegas 41. Prior to that ...

Vettori (18-6-1 MMA) had entered today’s co-main event with hopes of building on his unanimous decision victory over Paulo Costa at UFC Vegas 41. Marvin Vettori said: "sorry guys, he was really an elite opponent. Tonight’s UFC Paris co-main event proved to be another strong performance from the former champion in Robert Whittaker.

Former middlweight champion Robert Whittaker returned to the octagon to score a clear points win over Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris.

[lost the belt to Adesanya](https://www.sportingnews.com/au/mma/news/when-is-ufc-243-whittaker-vs-adesanya-in-melbourne-tickets-how-to-watch-who-is-fighting-fight-card-betting-odds-pay-per-view/ycyf80srdrzz1ax3pd66kl701) before [going down in a close one in the rematch](https://www.sportingnews.com/au/ufc-271-israel-adesanya-robert-whittaker-rematch-middleweight-title-mma-australia), said he's not going anywhere. "I’m stoked with it. After a close and cagey first round, Whittaker found his timing and went through the gears to show the full range of his skills.

Robert Whittaker admits he was annoyed by Marvin Vettori's fake handshake at weigh-ins prior to UFC Fight Night 209.

[left hanging at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2022/09/ufc-fight-night-209-paris-faceoff-video-robert-whittaker-marvin-vettori-lone-staredown) for UFC Fight Night 209 after his opponent faked a handshake and then got in his face for a tense staredown. “I started a little slower than I would’ve liked in hindsight. It was a grubby act.”

Paulo Costa has a stern message for Robert Whittaker following UFC Paris where "The Reaper" defeated Marvin Vettori.

I think that’s the next move for me.” I still think I’m the most dangerous man in the division because I win. As of now, Whittaker is the number one-ranked UFC middleweight behind the champion Israel Adesanya. I win a lot, and I make people hate fighting and I take the fight out of them. “I’m the most dangerous man in the division. Two of the three judges scored the fight 30-27, while the other judge had it 29-28.

Robert Whittaker recognizes Israel Adesanya is the champ, but he believes he is the most dangerous middleweight alive.

I conquered most of them before that second fight, and in that second fight, I conquered the rest of them, and I think you could see that in this fight today.” “I hear there’s rumors of an Australia card, and I would love to fight in my backyard,” Whittaker said. If Pereira is unable to dethrone Adesanya, that means Whittaker is likely still some ways off of a middleweight title shot, and that’s OK with the former champion. And I think stylistically he’s a great fighter, but I still think I’m the most dangerous man in the division, because I win. Should that happen, Whittaker could easily step in to face Pereira next, but he’s not so sure that will be an option. The small gloves change fights.” “[Adesanya] is very good – he’s very good,” Whittaker said. I get in there and I get to work.” The middleweight champion is set to defend his title against There’s a bit of a learning process afterward, a bit of a picking the pieces up process, and doubts and whatnot. [UFC Paris](https://www.mmafighting.com/fight-card/1317/ufc-paris-gane-vs-tuivasa), Whittaker turned in another brilliant performance, outclassing [Marvin Vettori](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/3761/marvin-vettori) [en route to winning a unanimous decision](https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/9/3/23335981/ufc-paris-results-robert-whittaker-batters-marvin-vettori-dynamic-striking-to-win-unanimous-decision). 2 middleweight in the world and, according to the former champion, showed that he is superior to champion [Israel Adesanya](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/4366/israel-adesanya) in some respects.

In the UFC Fight Night 209 co-main event, Robert Whittaker proved once again that he's a cut above most of the middleweight division.

I conquered most of them before that second fight, and in that second fight, I conquered the rest of them, and I think you could see that in this fight today.” A victory for Pereira could put Whittaker right back at the top of the list contenders, but he’s well aware of the challenge the champion presents. And I think stylistically he’s a great fighter, but I still think I’m the most dangerous man in the division, because I win. “[Adesanya] is very good – he’s very good,” Whittaker said. There’s a bit of a learning process afterward, a bit of a picking the pieces up process, and doubts and whatnot. I get in there and I get to work.”