Robert
Whittaker recently made his case for a matchup against Sean
Strickland.
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While both Whittaker and Strickland have long been among the top
middleweights in the
UFC, they haven’t fought during their respective promotional
tenures. Both are now at a crossroads in their careers and coming
off losses. Whittaker believes it is the right time for a bout
against “Tarzan.”
During a recent appearance on the „On Paper” podcast podcast with Anthony
Smith, Whittaker revealed that he is excited by the idea of
trying to figure out Strickland’s trademark defensive style.
“I think Strickland makes a good argument to have. Because I feel
like we’ve both been in that top sort of pond for a while, circling
each other,” Whittaker said. “For whatever reason we haven’t been
matched up, but we’ve both been in proximity for a while. And it’s
most likely the fight to make. I’m excited by that fight. I look at
his style, and I find it curious. I find it exciting to try and
work out.”
Whittaker has sandwiched wins over Ikram
Aliskerov and Paulo Costa
between losses against Dricus Du
Plessis and Khamzat
Chimaev. “Bobby Knuckles” most recently suffered a first-round
submission loss against Chimaev at UFC 308
this past October.
Meanwhile, Strickland has sandwiched a decision win over Costa
between title losses against Du Plessis. While Strickland suffered
a close split-decision loss in the first matchup with Du Plessis at
UFC 297 last year, he dropped a lopsided unanimous decision against
the champ in their rematch at UFC 312
earlier this month. Strickland’s coach Eric Nicksick publicly
called the performance “uninspiring,” which he later admitted was a
mistake.