Robert
Whittaker recently listed matchups he’s interested in while
dismissing others.
Whittaker (27-9) has a new range of opponents available after
moving up to light heavyweight. “The Reaper” is eyeing fellow
former
Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Magomed
Ankalaev, who defeated Bogdan
Guskov at
UFC Abu Dhabi last month.
Advertisement
Robert Whittaker discusses Magomed Ankalaev, Paulo Costa and
UFC light heavyweight matchups
While Whittaker admits Guskov would have been an exciting opponent
as well, he also would have been interested in Jan
Blachowicz if not for the Polish 205-pounder’s loss to Navajo
Stirling at
UFC Belgrade. While Paulo Costa
has momentum behind him, Whittaker would rather fight others,
having already beaten “Borrachinha” in a middleweight bout in
2024.
Whittaker also clarified that he will not fight his teammates
Stirling and Carlos
Ulberg, the current champion.
“I’d love to get in there with like Ank. Jan just had a loss but
would’ve loved to have jumped in there with him,” Whittaker said on
the “Believe You Me” podcast. “Bogdan would’ve been great; anyone
up. People keep throwing the name Costa out there, but I’ve fought
him before; there’s a lot of other guys out there. I won’t fight
the boys that I train with. If we reach a point where we’re 1, 2
and 3, with me, Carlos and now Nav, I’m sure we can all sit down
and find a way to get paid.”
Stirling also recently dismissed the idea of fighting Ulberg and
Whittaker, highlighting the camaraderie they share at
City Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand.
Whittaker recently moved up to light heavyweight after back-to-back
losses at middleweight. The Australian overcame early adversity to
knock out Nikita
Krylov at
UFC 329.